Winter Wonderland
by SK Dark Dragon
Summary: A big mansion, a group of antique thieves, and enchanted necklaces. Looks like this Christmas vacation is going to be anything but peaceful! Will Yugi and the gang make is through this adventure in one piece? -Completed!- READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!-
1. Chapter 1: Thanksgiving in Domino?

Winter Wonderland  
  
Chapter One: Thanksgiving in Domino?  
  
Notes: ^_^ Hello! Welcome to my new fic, the next one in my little series here. So they've defeated Yami Bakura now, the Vampire Lord is still at large, and now there's a new problem cropping up. ^^  
  
"Disclaimers, of course. We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or the characters from the manga or anime. We do own our own characters like Amber, Taerro, Yami Taerro, Madam Christina, etc. etc."  
  
Enjoy the fic! Oh, and minor note, I don't know for certain that Japan doesn't have some sort of Thanksgiving. So don't get mad at me if they do. ^^;;; And I got some ideas for this chapter in RPs with Princess Ria and Wingweaver Hope. ^_~  
  
***********  
  
Chapter One: Thanksgiving in Domino?  
  
It was a sunny, yet chilly, day in Domino, Japan, when Yugi Mouto and his friends walked down the street toward the Game Shop after school. Yugi shivered slightly as a strong wind blew by, rustling the few remaining brown leaves in the otherwise bare trees.  
  
"So, is everyone thinking about Christmas?" Yugi asked, looking over at his friends, his teeth chattering.  
  
Joey Wheeler nodded with a grin.  
  
"You bet!" he declared. "Christmas is my favorite holiday of the whole year!"  
  
Amber Johnson raised an eyebrow, looking over at Joey suspiciously.  
  
"Your absolute favorite?" she inquired, looking surprised. "Gee, I would have thought you'd like Thanksgiving, with all the food and all..."  
  
She trailed off as he friends all gave her queer looks. Amber bit her lip, looking nervous.  
  
"Um...did I say something wrong?" she asked, looking at them.  
  
Duke laughed, his breath turning into wisps of smoke in the crispy cold air as he did so.  
  
"No," he chuckled. "It's just that we don't celebrate Thanksgiving over here. Why would we?"  
  
Taerro nodded.  
  
Amber blushed, feeling silly.  
  
"Oh yeah, this is Japan," she murmured, grinning with embarrassment. "I've never gone without celebrating Thanksgiving though."  
  
Bakura smiled, carrying his bag in his right hand, his left arm still in a cast from the battle a week ago against the evil spirit of the Millennium Ring. He'd gotten a little roughed up during the last attack, but wasn't upset about it much. At least, he thought with relief, I'm rid of that evil spirit.  
  
Since Yami Bakura lost the battle, Yugi took custody of the Millennium Ring, Bakura only too glad to give it up. Now, Yugi thought, Yami was one step closer to retrieving his lost memory.  
  
"What do you do on Thanksgiving anyway?" Bakura asked, looking interested.  
  
Amber put a finger to her chin thoughtfully.  
  
"Well...you just think about everything you're thankful for and stuff like that, and there's this big dinner..." she began, but was cut off by a shout from Joey.  
  
"Did you say...big dinner?!" he cried, looking hungrily at her.  
  
Amber looked taken aback.  
  
  
  
"Yeah..." she replied, nodding. "And everybody eats the dinner," she finished.  
  
Joey's mouth watered.  
  
"Too bad we don't have that kind of holiday!" he sighed, his head drooping.  
  
Tristan Taylor chuckled, prodding Joey's arm.  
  
"You just want it cause of all the food," he accused Joey, playfully.  
  
Joey narrowed his eyes at Tristan.  
  
"So what?! It sounds great!" he shouted in reply.  
  
Tea Gardner rolled her eyes.  
  
"You guys," she muttered with a smile.  
  
Taerro was looking through a large book as he voiced his opinion on the matter.  
  
"It would be quite interesting to celebrate a foreign holiday," he mused, looking around at the others.  
  
Amber, however, was deep in thought. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she smiled at the others.  
  
"I know!" she cried, looking around happily. "We could celebrate it anyway! I could help set up and tell you guys what to have."  
  
Duke grinned at the suggestion.  
  
"Yeah!" he agreed, smiling. "We can have the dinner at my place."  
  
Yugi smiled as well, everyone else nodding in agreement, Joey looking thrilled at the suggestion.  
  
"Okay!" Yugi agreed, grinning as they approached the Game Shop. "When is Thanksgiving, anyway?" he asked Amber, looking curiously over at her.  
  
Amber bit her lip, thinking.  
  
"The 27th of November..." she murmured. "Anybody know what day that is?"  
  
Duke gulped, looking slightly nervous for the first time since the suggestion was made.  
  
"Well...tomorrow," he admitted, looking over at Amber cautiously.  
  
Amber, however, didn't look discouraged. Instead, she looked more determined than ever.  
  
"Then Duke!" she declared, grabbing his arm as Yugi walked up the stairs to the Game Shop door. "Let's go shopping!"  
  
Yugi laughed.  
  
"Okay guys!" he called, waving. "See you tomorrow!"  
  
Duke nodded as he and Amber hurried off down the street, toward the grocery store.  
  
"Yeah...be at my place by 6:00 tomorrow evening!" Duke called, hoping that Amber and he would be able to pull off this meal by then.  
  
Bakura smiled as Yugi looked at the rest of them.  
  
"Well Yugi, I guess I'm going to go on home," he said, waving with his good arm. "See you tomorrow!"  
  
"Bye Bakura!" Yugi called, waving, as Taerro headed on home after his friend.  
  
Joey looked as though he were in a daze, a dreamy look plastered over his face as he smiled.  
  
"Yeah...big feast!" he murmured hungrily, licking his lips.  
  
Tristan rolled his eyes and took Joey by his arm, starting to drag him off down the street.  
  
"Come on, Joey," he sighed, pulling Joey along with him. "Later guys!" Tristan called back to Yugi and Tea, who waved after them.  
  
Tea giggled, looking up at Yugi.  
  
  
  
"Well Yugi, I'd like to stick around, but I've got to get going," she admitted, stepping down the stairs. "Kiki said she'd teach me a little Irish dancing after school in the gym, so I'd better get going."  
  
Kisara, who preferred to go by Kiki, was an Irish dancer who was currently visiting Japan and was a victim of Yami Bakura's evil plot and ended up missing her big performance. Now, however, she was doing different things all over Domino with her group of dancers.  
  
Yugi smiled at Tea, happy for her. Tea jumped on any opportunity to learn more about dancing, and Yugi knew this was a big thing for her.  
  
"Okay, no problem," Yugi told her with a smile. "Have fun!"  
  
Tea smiled at Yugi as she ran off down the street.  
  
"See you, Yugi!" she called, waving.  
  
Yugi waved back until Tea was out of sight, then, shivering, he walked happily into the warmth of his house.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, across town, Seto Kaiba was busy at work on his latest project at Kaiba Corporation's main building. Up on the top floor, he was typing away, perfecting the codes and every once in a while, checking his e-mail.  
  
His train of thoughts on his game, however, were interrupted as Mokuba, his younger brother, came running into the room, his cheeks pink from the wind outside.  
  
"Niisama!" he cried, grinning broadly as he took off his damp scarf. "It's snowing outside!"  
  
Seto looked up from his work, and smiled quickly over at Mokuba before looking outside the window behind him for himself. It was true, he thought as he watched the little white flakes of snow falling toward the city of Domino below. It was snowing.  
  
"You're right," Seto said, turning around and facing his eager little brother again. "It is."  
  
Mokuba grinned excitedly.  
  
"Maybe it'll be a really big snowfall!" he exclaimed, thinking dreamily of the ground all covered in white, powdery snow. "Then I can make a snowman and stuff!"  
  
  
  
Seto nodded, glad Mokuba was so enthusiastic about the snow. To Seto, however, snow had lost it's great appeal since it made getting around outside difficult, and it meant snow boots and jackets and things that he'd rather not be bothered with.  
  
Still, Seto thought to himself, it's still nice to look at, I suppose.  
  
"Maybe by tomorrow you'll have your wish, Mokuba," Seto commented, watching the snowfall increase. "It's really starting to come down out there."  
  
Mokuba's grin widened.  
  
"You think so?" he asked as Priest Seto floated through the walls and into the office, looking rather surprised.  
  
"I hate to sound ridiculous, but what IS all that white stuff falling from the sky outside?" he asked, looking confused.  
  
Mokuba started laughing.  
  
"The snow?" he asked, still giggling.  
  
Priest Seto looked embarrassed.  
  
"If that is what you call it," he replied, still confused. "But what IS it?"  
  
Seto sighed, smirking.  
  
"It's like frozen rain," he explained, saving his work on the computer screen. "It piles up on the ground like powder if enough falls, and then people like Mokuba can play in it."  
  
Priest Seto blinked.  
  
"Strange," he remarked, gazing out the window at the falling flakes. "I never saw any of this snow during my life..."  
  
Mokuba rolled his eyes with a smile.  
  
"That's because you lived in Egypt," he reminded him. "It doesn't snow in Egypt; it's not cold enough there to snow."  
  
Priest Seto nodded, still confused, but pretending he understood.  
  
"I...see..." he replied, casting one more glance out the window.  
  
Seto sighed, looking at his watch.  
  
"I've got about another hour's worth of work to do, Mokuba," he explained to his younger brother. "Do you want to call the house and ask for someone to come pick you up?"  
  
Mokuba smiled and shook his head.  
  
"No, that's okay," he replied happily. "I'll just hang out around here with the priest."  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"All right, but don't be too noisy, okay?" he reminded Mokuba as he started to walk toward the door, Priest Seto following. "People are still working."  
  
Mokuba winked.  
  
"No problem, niisama," he replied, walking out the door, the priest behind him. "See you in a little while!"  
  
Seto nodded, returning to his work.  
  
"All right," he relied as the door closed with a small snap.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Amber and Duke were walking through the grocery store, Duke carrying a basket that Amber had already nearly filled to the brim with most of the essentials to the Thanksgiving meal.  
  
"Um...let's see..." she murmured, scanning the contents of the basket. "We still need the most important thing!"  
  
Duke tilted his head.  
  
"The drinks?" he inquired, wondering what else they could need.  
  
Amber giggled.  
  
"No, not drinks," she replied rolling her eyes with a smile. "The turkey of course!"  
  
Duke blinked.  
  
"You need a turkey?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.  
  
Amber looked at him like he was crazy.  
  
"Of COURSE you need a turkey, Duke!" she exclaimed, looking down the frozen isle. "That's one of the most important things of the Thanksgiving meal, even though I really don't even LIKE turkey that much, it's essential to Thanksgiving."  
  
Duke bit his lip as Amber searched through the frozen foods, trying to find a turkey.  
  
"Fish...fish...catfish...sushi...sheesh!" she murmured, inspecting the foods for a turkey, to no avail. "No turkey here at all!"  
  
Duke looked uncomfortable.  
  
  
  
"Well...could we do the Thanksgiving dinner WITHOUT a turkey?" he asked, smiling nervously.  
  
Amber sighed, looking defeated.  
  
"Okay...I guess if we got a decent replacement," she admitted, looking around, glaring at the fish. "But is fish all that's around here?"  
  
Duke shrugged, still grinning uncomfortably.  
  
"Everybody likes fish," he said optimistically, smiling.  
  
Amber narrowed her eyes with a sigh.  
  
"A Thanksgiving fish?" she said, uncertain.  
  
Even the way that came out sounded ridiculous, she thought to herself. But there isn't anything else good here for a replacement. I guess I'm stuck with it...  
  
"Well..." she began, Duke cutting her off, obviously trying to defend the fish.  
  
  
  
"I'm sure that the Pilgrims went fishing too," he put in, smiling.  
  
Amber smirked back, picking up a large fish and putting in the basket with all the other items.  
  
"I guess it'll do," she admitted, walking toward the checkout line. "Come on! We've got a lot to do before tomorrow!"  
  
Duke nodded, hurrying after her with the basket.  
  
"I hear you!" he called with a laugh, hoping that their modified Thanksgiving wasn't going to turn into another disaster.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi sat down with a sigh in the chair beside the computer, and he jiggled the mouse to turn off the screensaver.  
  
"I guess I'll check my e-mail..." he murmured to himself, double-clicking on the mail icon and opening his mailbox.  
  
  
  
He scanned his mailbox quickly for anything of interest, and amidst the truckload of spam-mail, there was one letter that caught his eye. The subject was Winter Holiday, and the sender was TiqueFreak@yahoo.com.  
  
Yugi's eyes widened at the sender.  
  
"Could it be...?" he murmured, double-clicking on the piece of mail and opening it up.  
  
************  
  
:P I bet you want to know what that letter's about, don't you?  
  
"^_^ I sure do! But if you've read our other stories, you should know by now who TiqueFreak is. ^_~"  
  
Please, REVIEW for now! And next chapter up soon! ^_^ 


	2. Chapter 2: The Invite

Chapter Two: The Invite  
  
Notes: ^_^ Back for chapter 2 here!  
  
"Yep! Thanks for your reviews, everyone!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Two: The Invite  
  
Yugi double-clicked on the letter and opened it up, causing the message inside to be displayed on the screen. Eagerly, he began at the top and began to read:  
  
"Dear Yugi,  
  
I hope this letter finds you in good health. I daresay I am doing well myself. No more break-ins or burglaries since your last visit, although the police still haven't recovered the missing medallion.  
  
But that is all beside the point. This letter is an invitation to you and all your friends that visited me last time to come and spend the week before Christmas at my mansion.  
  
I'll understand if you don't want to come, but I do believe that you'll have a lot of fun if you do. I have several things planned, and would like you to join in the fun.   
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Madam Christina"  
  
Yugi blinked, gaping at the letter. He hadn't heard from Madam Christina since back in September when they'd gone on a field trip to an ancient cultures festival, during which time Yami Taerro made off with one very rare and very powerful medallion.  
  
But spend a week at her mansion? It sounded like fun! As Yugi saved the letter and was about to turn around and call his friends, Yami Yugi, the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle suddenly appeared beside him in his spiritual form.  
  
Yugi looked up at his friend, excitedly.  
  
"Yami!" he cried, grinning. "Guess what? Madam Christina has invited as all to spend the week before Christmas at her mansion!"  
  
Yami raised an eyebrow, surprised.  
  
"Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "On what occasion?"  
  
Yugi shrugged.  
  
"I don't know..." he murmured, reading over the letter again. "Maybe she just wants to do something out of the ordinary for a change."  
  
Yami nodded slowly, musing on the idea of a week at Madam Christina's mansion.  
  
"Perhaps," he replied.  
  
Yugi turned around and smiled again.  
  
"But whatever the reason, we're all invited," he reminded Yami. "I gotta go ask Grandpa if I can go, and then call the others!"  
  
Yami smiled as Yugi ran off toward the kitchen. Then, he looked around the family room for a moment when something outside the window caught his eye. He floated over to the window and peered out at the twilight outside to see fluffy flakes of snow falling from the sky to the ground where they settled on the grass and on the roads.  
  
"What in the...?" he murmured to himself, utterly confused by this strange phenomenon. "Yugi...?" he called, floating off to find his aibou.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, in the cold and dark auditorium of Domino High School, Tea watched from the side of the stage as Kiki did a basic dance, which to Tea, looked immensely complex.  
  
"Wow..." Tea murmured when Kiki had finished, her cheeks slightly flushed from the excise, Tea rubbing her arms furiously to keep warm. "That looked awesome."  
  
Kiki smiled, embarrassed.  
  
"It's really just the basic dance," she replied, walking over to Tea. "I think you should be able to learn it in a week or so."  
  
Tea laughed.  
  
"That would be wonderful, but I doubt it," she replied modestly.  
  
Kiki was silent for a moment as the pondered on something. Then, her eyes lit up and she looked over at Tea seriously, but excitedly.  
  
"Tea, if you CAN learn these steps in a week, I think that you might be able to help us out," she explained, grinning broadly.  
  
Tea raised an eyebrow, interested.  
  
"Help you out?" she repeated, somewhat confused, but also intrigued.  
  
Kiki nodded quickly.  
  
"Yes," she replied. "Me and my four other fellow dancers are scheduled to do a performance on Christmas Eve. There's one beginner in my group who was scheduled to be performing the basic steps in the back while the others did more complicated steps up front. But she just changed plans and has gone back to Ireland. If you want, and if you could, maybe you could take her place during that performance."  
  
Tea's heart skipped a beat.  
  
"Re...really?" she asked, almost in disbelief.  
  
Kiki nodded with a smile.  
  
"I've watched your dances and you are very talented," she replied. "I think you would be a great replacement for my friend."  
  
Tea could feel her cheeks glowing she was so excited. Her? Dancing with the Irish dancers and learning a new dance!  
  
"Well what are we waiting for then? Let's get started!" Tea declared with a grin.  
  
Kiki nodded with a laugh.  
  
"Okay then," she replied, showing Tea the moves.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi excitedly ran into the kitchen where his mother was making Christmas cookies and Grandpa was reading the newspaper at the table. Yugi grinned and hurried over to him.  
  
  
  
"Hey Grandpa?" he asked, smiling as Grandpa looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Madam Christina invited me and everyone else to spend the week before Christmas at her place...is that okay?"  
  
He smiled sweetly, hoping his grandfather wouldn't mind. Grandpa chuckled and looked back down at his paper again.  
  
"It's fine with me, Yugi," he replied with a grin. "So long as you're home for Christmas!"  
  
Yugi nodded honestly.  
  
"Yes!" he replied.  
  
Yugi's mother turned around.  
  
  
  
"You'd BETTER be home for Christmas," she added, looking sternly at Yugi. "All right?"  
  
Yugi nodded quickly.  
  
"Yes! I promise to be home for Christmas," he said sincerely.  
  
Yugi's mom smiled.  
  
"Okay then, I hope you'll have fun visiting your friend," she finished in a much lighter and happier tone, returning to her cookie-baking.  
  
Yugi smiled broadly and skipped out of the kitchen, only to run into Yami, who looked very confused. Yugi cocked his head to the side.  
  
"What's wrong, Yami?" Yugi asked, looking concerned for his friend.  
  
Yami glanced out the window again.  
  
  
  
"It appears to be raining fluffy white things outside..." Yami murmured, feeling slightly embarrassed.  
  
Yugi laughed, looking outside excitedly.  
  
"Yami, that's snow!" he cried, grinning at his friend. "It's like semi-frozen rain. It collects on the ground and is really fun!"  
  
Yami looked embarrassed now.  
  
"Oh..." he muttered, biting his lip. "I see. So it is a natural thing?"  
  
Yugi nodded, still giggling.  
  
"Yes, Yami," he replied, walking over to the computer again to reply to Madam Christina's e-mail.  
  
************  
  
Seto closed up his laptop an hour after the snowfall had begun and picked up his metal briefcase.  
  
"We may as well get home before the weather gets too bad," he murmured to himself as he closed and locked the door to his office behind him.  
  
A few minutes later, Seto stepped out of the elevator and into the main lobby of Kaiba Corp. Mokuba was playing on his Game Boy in a cozy chair in the corner of the room and the spirit of the priest was nowhere in sight.  
  
Mokuba glanced up and noticed his brother, smiling. He hopped up from the chair and scurried over to his brother.  
  
"Niisama, it's still snowing!" he cried excitedly, grinning. "It's sticking to the ground, too! "  
  
Seto smiled at his brother briefly as the two walked outside into the chilly weather, snowflakes blowing by in the December wind, stinging their cheeks.  
  
"Should w...we call the manor?" Mokuba chattered rubbing his arms.  
  
He hadn't brought a coat with him since it hadn't been snowing earlier in the day, but now he wished he had, since the wind was especially chilly.  
  
Seto shrugged, looking around.  
  
"I guess we should," he replied, pulling out his cell phone. "You can go wait in the lobby inside if you're cold," he added to Mokuba as he dialed the number.  
  
Mokuba shook his head, enjoying watching the snow fall on the streets as the cars passed by, despite the coldness of the day.  
  
"Nah...I'll stay out here," he replied.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Ishizu Ishtar gazed out the window of her small office near the Egyptian Wing of Domino Museum, watching the snow fall gently to the ground outside. Having lived in Egypt most of her life, snow was something she'd rarely seen.  
  
  
  
She smiled to herself, knowing Malik would probably be intrigued by the snow as well. Just as the thought crossed her mind, however, the telephone rang beside her.  
  
She looked over at it for a moment, temporarily started, then picked it up off the hook.  
  
"Hello? Ancient Egypt department," she asked answered professionally, and was greeted by the cheerful voice of her brother.  
  
"Neesan!" Malik exclaimed, brightly.  
  
  
  
Ishizu smiled.  
  
"Malik, how are you?" she asked, having not heard from her brother in a while.  
  
"Fine," he replied immediately. "And you?"  
  
"Good," Ishziu replied, looking out the window again. "It's snowing here in Domino."  
  
Malik sighed enviously.  
  
"And I'm missing it!" he said sadly, but also a hint of laughter in his voice. "What's it like?"  
  
Ishizu laughed.  
  
"You'll just have to come see it sometime," she replied.  
  
Malik sighed.  
  
"Neesan?" he asked cautiously. "Are you going to come home soon? At least to visit?"  
  
  
  
Ishizu smiled.  
  
"I'll try, Malik," she replied with a sigh. "I'd really like that."  
  
Malik smiled.  
  
"All right then, neesan," he replied. "I'll talk to you later!"  
  
Ishizu nodded.  
  
"Good bye, Malik..." she replied, hanging up again.  
  
***********  
  
By this time, Yugi had finished writing most of his e-mail to Madam Christina, and was now on the phone with Joey. He'd already called Bakura, Taerro, and Tristan, all of whom said they could come, and were very excited about the idea.  
  
  
  
"I wonder what the old bird wants to do THIS time?" Joey asked suspiciously, causing Yugi to laugh.  
  
"Joey, she just wants to have some people around for a change, I'm sure," he replied. "So can you go?"  
  
Joey sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I bet I can," he replied, glancing edgily over at a picture of his younger sister that sat on his dresser. "But do you think..."  
  
Yugi blinked.  
  
"Think what, Joey?" he asked, confused.  
  
"You think old Madam will mind if Serenity comes along too?" Joey asked, biting his lip. "I mean, it's been a while since I've done something with her, and I'd really like some time with her, you know?"  
  
Yugi grinned.  
  
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind," he replied, typing that into his e-mail. "I'll ask her just to make sure though."  
  
Joey grinned.  
  
  
  
"Thanks Yug," he replied with a sigh. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Bye Joey," Yugi replied, hanging up before dialing Duke's number.  
  
***********  
  
Duke fumbled with his three bags of groceries as he struggled to turn the knob on the front door. Behind him, Amber sighed, shifting around her four bags, waiting anxiously to get in.  
  
"Man, snow is nice, but not when you're stuck outside in it!" Amber groaned as the door clicked, and opened up at last.  
  
Duke stumbled inside, nodding, the sound of the phone ringing meeting his ears as he and Amber walked into the kitchen.  
  
"The phone!" he called, dumping his three bags on the counter before skidding across the kitchen and grabbing the phone up off the hook. "Hello? Duke Devlin speaking."  
  
Yugi grinned at the sound of his friend's voice.  
  
"Hi Duke!" he replied, smiling. "How are you guys?"  
  
Duke sighed as Amber managed to make it to the counter before dropping all her bags down with a gasp.  
  
"Whew..." she sighed, wiping snow and sweat off of her forehead. "Thanksgiving dinner was never so taxing back home."  
  
Duke grinned at this.  
  
"We're good...we just got home from buying all this Thanksgiving food," he replied.  
  
Yugi suddenly remembered the Thanksgiving dinner and grinned.  
  
"Oh yeah!" he cried. "That should be fun! But what I really called for was because I just got this e-mail from Madam Christina, and she wants us all to spend a week before Christmas at her place! She said she's got lots of stuff planned for us."  
  
Duke raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
"Cool," he replied, Amber cocking her head at him curiously. "Well, tell her that Amber and I are in. Sounds like fun."  
  
"What's fun?" Amber mouthed at him, Duke holding up one finger, as if to say, "One second!"  
  
"Okay then, thanks," Yugi replied, writing that Duke and Amber would be coming as well. "See you later!"  
  
"Bye," Duke called, hanging up the phone, Amber waiting anxiously beside him.  
  
"What're we going to?" Amber asked immediately.  
  
Duke grinned.  
  
"A week at Madam Christina's," he replied with a wink.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter Two  
  
REVIEW!  
  
"Thanks for reading, and next chapter up soon!" 


	3. Chapter 3: The Thanksgiving Fish

Chapter Three: The Thanksgiving Fish  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for the reviews!  
  
"And here's Chapter Three!"  
  
************  
  
  
  
Chapter Three: The Thanksgiving Fish  
  
By the next morning in Domino, a thick blanket of snow covered all the lawns and houses in the city. Snowplows had come by early in the morning and done their job so that, to most students' dismay, everyone could attend school and work as usual.  
  
Mokuba excitedly bounced downstairs, dressed for school, and bounded into the dining room where his brother was reading the morning paper.  
  
"How deep is the snow out there, niisama?" he asked excitedly, sitting down next to Seto and leaning over the paper.  
  
Seto smiled.  
  
"Eight inches right now," he said with a smile. "But more should be falling over the next few days."  
  
Mokuba grinned.  
  
"I can't wait until school is over!" he said gleefully, grabbing his bag and heading for the door.  
  
"Don't forget your jacket," Seto called automatically, putting down the paper and standing up.  
  
Mokuba nodded, slipping one arm through his jacket and running outside and into the fresh snow.  
  
"Wow..." he sighed, looking at a squirrel bound across the yard and up a snow-covered tree. "It's GREAT!"  
  
"I still don't really understand it..." Came Priest Seto's voice from the other side of the yard. "It looks like very white sand."  
  
Mokuba giggled.  
  
"Maybe that's cause you can't feel it," he suggested, plodding through the snow and over to the priest, trying to leave as few marks as possible, so as not to blemish the clean look of the yard.  
  
Priest Seto shrugged, looking up at Mokuba.  
  
"Perhaps," he replied. "What does it feel like, anyway?"  
  
  
  
"Hm..." Mokuba thought to himself, bending down and reaching into the snow. "Well, it's cold. And sorta wet, and...um...hey! Why don't you possess me for a second so you can feel it for yourself?"  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Are you sure you do not mind?" he asked, looking over at Mokuba.  
  
Mokuba smiled and shook his head.  
  
"No, just hurry up so I won't be late for school," he laughed, Priest Seto floating down and entering the boy's body.  
  
"Hm..." he murmured, digging his hand into the snow for a moment before his eyes bulged and he jerked it back out again, and freed himself from Mokuba's body.  
  
  
  
Mokuba laughed, looking up at him.  
  
"What did you think?" he asked, grinning.  
  
Priest Seto looked rather shocked.  
  
"Um...it was...cold," he replied slowly and slightly rigidly, causing Mokuba to giggle again.  
  
***********  
  
That day at school passed by fairly slowly, Yugi constantly having to jerk himself out of a daydream about winter vacation. Mr. Zaliki, the homeroom and science teacher, was having trouble controlling the class, all of whom seemed to have only one thing on their mind; Christmas Vacation. That, and playing in the snow.  
  
"It's not even December yet!" Their teacher finally barked at the class, everyone gulping as he narrowed his eyes in frustration. "Now if one more person is thinking about snow when they SHOULD be thinking about sulfide is going to get a detention!"  
  
Joey groaned, leaning over to talk to Tristan, who was sitting beside him in the back of the classroom.  
  
"Sheesh, is Mr. Zaliki a scrooge or what?" he muttered, Tristan nodding in agreement.  
  
"I'll say..."  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, however, the final bell rang, and school was over. As all the students scrambled toward the door, Mr. Zaliki smacked his ruler against the blackboard.  
  
"I don't want even ONE person to enter this classroom tomorrow without their science work done," he snapped, looking menacingly at the class. "Understand?"  
  
The class murmured their responses before hurrying out of the classroom. The only person who stayed behind was Taerro, who was interested in some chemical or another and was going to ask Mr. Zaliki about it.  
  
Outside, the rest of the gang gathered by the monkey bars, Yugi grinning excitedly.  
  
  
  
"So, everyone can come?" he asked, wanting to make sure.  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"Everyone present and accounted for...except Taerro, but we know he wants to go anyway," she chuckled, looking anxiously toward the road that led to the Black Crown.  
  
  
  
Tea nodded with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds so cool!" she agreed.  
  
Joey scratched his head irritably.  
  
"Aa, I STILL think that old bird is up to something..." he muttered, as Seto walked by, metal briefcase in hand, on his way, most likely, to Kaiba Corp.  
  
Yugi's eyes lit up and he hurried after the CEO.  
  
"Hey Kaiba!" he called, causing Seto to stop and turn around, raising an eyebrow at Yugi. "Madam Christina invited us all to spend the week before Christmas at her mansion. Would you and Mokuba want to go?"  
  
Seto sighed, narrowing his eyes. Of COURSE Mokuba would want to go, but taking a week off and visiting a strange mansion was not exactly Seto's idea of a fun vacation. Especially if they're going to be around, he added to himself, glaring over at Joey and Tristan.  
  
"I guess," Seto decided to reply simply, turning around again. "I'm sure Mokuba will enjoy it."  
  
Yugi smiled.  
  
"Okay then, I'll tell her that you're coming too!" he called back at Seto, who was continuing to walk toward his company.  
  
Joey scowled at Yugi returned to the others.  
  
"Man, Yugi, what'd you have to go and invite Kaiba for?" he sighed, glaring at Seto's back as he walked out of sight. "It would have been so much more...fun without him around."  
  
Bakura chuckled, leaning against the jungle gym.  
  
"I'm sure it will still be fun, Joey," he replied with a smile.  
  
Amber nervously walked a little ways away from the others, and toward Duke's house.  
  
"Guys, I've got to get back to the Black Crown and get the rest of the Thanksgiving stuff ready for tonight," she explained, Duke nodding and heading after her.  
  
Instantly, the sourpuss look faded from Joey's face and was replaced by that hungry-smile again.  
  
"Yeah! The big dinner!" he exclaimed, his tongue hanging out slightly. "At least Kaiba won't be around to spoil that..."  
  
Tea raised an eyebrow, rather appalled at her friend's behavior, then smiled at Amber and Duke.  
  
"Okay," she called as the two started walking away. "I may be a few minutes late tonight!" she added, grinning. "Kiki's teaching me a few more steps!"  
  
Yugi glanced up at Tea with a smile.  
  
"Are you enjoying the Irish dancing lessons?" he asked kindly.  
  
Tea nodded, grinning broadly.  
  
"I sure am!" she exclaimed, a dreamy-look coming over her. "And Kiki said if I can get all these steps down quickly enough, I can perform with her group on Christmas Eve in replacement for one of her beginners who went back home."  
  
Yugi's eyes widened.  
  
  
  
"That's GREAT Tea!" he cried, happy for her.  
  
Tristan frowned skeptically.  
  
"But you're not Irish, Tea," he pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "How would you even fit in with them...OW!"  
  
He was cut off as Tea smacked him with her bag, looking highly offended.  
  
  
  
"You'll just have to wait and see, Tristan Taylor!" Tea shouted as she hurried off to the auditorium. "See you at dinner, Yugi!" she added kindly to Yugi, who waved after her.  
  
Bakura couldn't help but giggle at Tristan rubbed his head, glaring at the white-haired boy.  
  
"What's so funny?" he snapped, Bakura immediately returning to his serious self.  
  
"Oh, nothing!" Bakura replied, lifting up his good arm in front of him as if defending himself from Tristan's verbal attack.  
  
  
  
Tristan glared back at Bakura for a second longer before sighing.  
  
  
  
"Oh well," he muttered, turning toward his end of town. "I'd better get home and get that stupid science assignment done before this meal tonight."  
  
Yugi's smile faded quickly as he remembered.  
  
  
  
"Yeah!" he cried, running in the opposite direction. "See you guys at dinner! Later!"  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Amber bit her lip as she struggled through a passage in a cookbook on how to fry fish while Duke was opening a can of chilled cranberry sauce.  
  
"Duke!" she sighed, letting the book fall shut in front of her. "I don't understand what they're saying."  
  
Duke yanked the lid off the can at long last, revealing a jello-like, maroon substance inside.  
  
"Okay..." he muttered, reopening the book and scanning the pages. "You just put it in the frying pan and fry it for a while," he explained with a laugh.  
  
Frowning slightly, Amber yanked the book back.  
  
"Thanks," she muttered, pulling out the rather slimy fish with a sigh. "I'm sure fish is good, but it just doesn't remind me of Thanksgivings I used to have."  
  
Duke shrugged smiling as he dumped the sauce into a bowl and stuck it in the refrigerator.  
  
"Well, maybe fish will remind you later on of the Thanksgiving you had here," he replied with a wink, causing Amber to smile again.  
  
"I guess you're right," she replied, dumping the fish into the oil, causing smoke to rise up as it sizzled.  
  
Two minutes barely passed before a harsh screeching/beeping sound filled the room, causing Amber to cover her ears, wincing.  
  
"The smoke alarm!" she cried, glaring up at the ceiling at Duke's rather over-reactive smoke alarm.  
  
Picking up a paper-plate, Amber fanned the air around it, causing the harsh beep to cease, to her immense relief.  
  
"Whew," she sighed, sitting down on a stool, paper-plate still in hand if the alarm decided to go off again. "Can't you disable that thing or something when you're cooking?" she asked Duke, who was making rice, which was, to Amber's dismay, the substitute for potatoes.  
  
Duke shrugged.  
  
"I'll forget to plug it back in," he sighed. "And then if there IS a fire, and it doesn't go off, and we all die, all those times it was so annoying would never have been worth it."  
  
Amber raised an eyebrow at Duke's logic as he stirred the rice calmly.  
  
"Um...okay..." she replied slowly, turning back to her fish, which was sizzling nicely.  
  
***********  
  
It was around 6:30 that evening when the doorbell rang at Duke's house, and Duke hurried over to door to answer it.  
  
"Hey guys," he greeted, recognizing Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Bakura, and Taerro, all of whom looking freezing cold as they stood out in the snow. "Come on in."  
  
"Th...thanks," Yugi chattered, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them.  
  
"It's quite chilly out there," Bakura added, glad Duke had heating installed in his house, making the atmosphere quite cozy.  
  
Joey inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the Thanksgiving dinner.  
  
"Man, that smells good!" he exclaimed, grinning.  
  
Tristan nodded in approval.  
  
"Yeah, it does," he agreed, walking into the dining room, where Amber was putting the finished fish on the table on a long platter.  
  
"And it looks quite appetizing as well," Taerro commented, admiring the plates on the table.  
  
Amber sighed, wiping off her hands.  
  
"Well, I hope this all tastes good," she said, eyeing the fish suspiciously. "Though, I don't think I would have done much better trying to cook a turkey anyway."  
  
Yugi smiled.  
  
"Yeah, it all looks great," he complimented. "Guess all we have to do now is wait for Tea to get here."  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"Yep," he replied, glancing over at his computer. "I got an e-mail from that Madam Christina formally inviting me to visit," Duke explained with a chuckle. "Sounds like she's got a lot planned for us from the way she was talking."  
  
Amber grinned.  
  
"That's good, though," she said, looking at her dinner again. "At least we had cranberry sauce and stuffing," she thought to herself. "SOMETHING that resembles a regular Thanksgiving. I bet Pearl will get a kick out of this when I write to her."  
  
Yugi looked around, thinking of something to say that would spark a conversation.  
  
"Um..." he muttered, looking around with a grin. "Everyone did their science assignment, right?"  
  
Taerro grinned proudly.  
  
"But of course," he replied. "Although, I think I found a mistake in the textbook..."  
  
Before Taerro could continue, Bakura cut in.  
  
"I did mine," he replied with a smile, Tristan nodding as well.  
  
Joey looked blankly at the others.  
  
"Um...whoops," he muttered, grinning embarrassedly.  
  
Amber sighed, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"Stupid assignment," she muttered. "I'll do it later."  
  
Duke nodded in agreement. Yugi smiled. As soon as Tea got there, they would be able to eat the Thanksgiving dinner! And soon, they'd be on their way to Madam Christina's mansion for a week! Did the holiday season get much better than this? Or was something unexpected lurking in the near future?  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 3  
  
^_^ You know how I love cliffhangers, so I create and eerie ending when a good one's not available.  
  
"--; Okay, review everyone! Next chapter up soon!" 


	4. Chapter 4: Snow Days

Chapter Four: Snow Days  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing, all. XD Yes, you'll need that umbrella!  
  
"And here's chapter 4. ^-^ By the way, we've updated our profile with a new journal link. XD"  
  
************  
  
Chapter Four: Snow Days  
  
Seto sat at his computer, scanning through his e-mail before he was going to work on his latest project. He and Mokuba had played in the snow for nearly an hour, and both were now quite cozy in the house. Seto had made Mokuba take a hot bath before he got changed for bed, but he himself hadn't really gotten that wet outside.  
  
Mokuba had invited the Priest Seto try to make a snowball, but the priest, to Seto's surprise, declined, looking rather embarrassed. Now, Seto was deleting nearly half of his inbox, disgusted with the amount of spam mail.  
  
"Why do I even bother with filters?" he murmured, hitting the delete key several times in a row before stopping and looking at a letter from GlitterandGold@yahoo.com.  
  
"That must that woman..." he murmured, opening up the letter, expecting to see an invite to her mansion, but instead, there was a letter of a very different sort.  
  
"Got the date. They'll be there. Check out the attached file for other details and meet at the Birdhouse at half past five."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, confused. What sort of letter was that? Scrolling down, however, he saw an attached file, which read,  
  
"Hello friends! Madam Christina here, obviously. Anyhow, this is a formal invite to spend the week of December 15, 2003 at my mansion. Be prepared for fun-filled activities, projects, and games, as well as some good old-fashioned Christmas cheer. Parent's permission IS required, of course, but I don't need any signatures or anything. I trust that you'll be honest. Besides, they'll wonder where you've gone to if you don't show up for a week!..."  
  
The letter continued on in a rambling fashion, but Seto ignored the rest. All the real information had already been presented. But something still puzzle him...  
  
Scrolling back up to the top, he re-read the brief note that seemed to have nothing to do with the letter Madam Christina had written. Was it a computer error? Or was it something else...  
  
Still suspicious, Seto kept the e-mail as new, and went on with his spam deletion.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, there was a knock on the door, and Tristan hurried over to answer it. Pulling the door open, he found a snow-covered Tea standing in the doorway, flakes of snow blowing in.  
  
"Let me in already!" she cried, shivering and hurrying past the brown-haired boy and into the house. "It's freezing out there AND it's starting to snow again!"  
  
Amber grinned.  
  
"More snow? Cool!" she exclaimed from where she and the others were sitting at the table, waiting to dig into the Thanksgiving feast.  
  
  
  
Tea sighed, hanging up her jacket, snow melting off of the shoulders.  
  
"Maybe, if you're not stuck out in it while trying to run to a friend's house," she retorted, sighing as she sat down.  
  
  
  
Her brown hair was matted down with water, most likely from melted snowflakes, and her cheeks were pink.  
  
"Looks good," she commented, feeling awkward, as everyone's eyes were upon her.  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"Let's hope it tastes as good," she replied, looking around at the others, who were all waiting patiently, with the except of Joey, who looked like he was drooling on his empty plate.  
  
"Now!" Amber began, standing up, Joey reaching for the rice.  
  
"We can eat?!" he asked hurriedly, ready to spoon some onto his plate.  
  
Tristan wacked him with his own plate, causing Joey to slump back down properly into his own seat.  
  
"Ow..." he murmured grumpily as Amber cleared her throat.  
  
"NO, we do NOT eat yet," she replied, exasperated. "First, we think about all we're thankful for in life for a few minutes," she explained, looking nervously around at the others. "That's what my family always does back home."  
  
Duke nodded, approvingly.  
  
"Sure," he replied, everyone else already thinking hard, even Joey, who could scarcely take his eyes off the food.  
  
Amber sat back down, thinking to herself.  
  
"I guess I'm just thankful for where I am," she thought to herself with a grin. "I've got great friends, a great family, and we're all safe. That's good enough for me!"  
  
Yami, too, had appeared beside his aibou and was thinking to himself. He'd never celebrated Thanksgiving before either, but that was no reason not to participate now.  
  
"Thankful?" he murmured to himself. "I suppose I'm grateful for Yugi. And all his friends. And that the road to my lost memory is finally beginning to open up to me."  
  
A moment later, Amber looked around at the others, eagerly.  
  
"Everyone done?" she asked, the others nodding in agreement.  
  
"Yep," Yugi replied, looking longing at the meal as well.  
  
"Well, it's not exactly what I'd planned, but here's the Thanksgiving feast!" Amber declared with a grin. "Dig in."  
  
Only a second later had she said those words did Joey snatch up nearly one helping of everything, and two helpings of stuffing, and begin chowing down. Tristan, beside him, looked rather taken aback at his friend's table manors, but took a helping of everything as well, in a much neater fashion than Joey.  
  
"Tastes great!" Duke commented, trying to fish. "Are you sure you've never cooked fish before?" he asked, looking over at Amber playfully.  
  
Amber rolled her eyes with a grin.  
  
"Never in my life, but I'm glad it's good," she replied, taking some herself.  
  
Yugi grinned as the plate of rolls was passed down to him, and he offered one to Tea before taking one himself.  
  
"So..." Bakura asked, looking around at his friends after several silent minutes of eating had gone by. "What sorts of things do you think Madam Christina will have in store for us this time?" he asked, looking to the others for their responses.  
  
"Dinner I hope," Joey mumbled through a mouthful of fish and rice.  
  
Tea's eyebrows went up.  
  
"Jo-ey! Is food all you ever think about?" she asked in exasperation.  
  
Joey was too busy eating to reply. Tristan rolled his eyes and leaned past Joey to talk to the others.  
  
"Well, maybe she'll do another tournament, like she did on that island a while back," he suggested, Yugi nodding in agreement.  
  
  
  
"That's possible," he agreed. "And maybe we'll do other fun things, like decorate a Christmas tree and sing carols."  
  
Taerro pushed back his glasses as he sat back in his chair.  
  
"Or maybe...she'll let us spend the week looking at her oldest and rarest and most interesting artifacts!" he declared excitedly, looking around at the others, all of whom did not look quite so enthusiastic about this suggestion.  
  
"Um...or maybe we'll just hang out," Bakura finished, sweating slightly at Taerro's comment.  
  
************  
  
Mokuba had gotten out of the steamy bathtub and was just finishing pulling his pajama shirt on over his head when he noticed Priest Seto floating around outside the door through image of the slightly ajar door that was reflected in the mirror.  
  
Grinning, he turned around and opened the door, coming face to face with the spirit.  
  
"Hey!" he called happily, smiling up at his friend. "Guess what?"  
  
Priest Seto gave a weak smile in reply.  
  
"What?" he asked, curious.  
  
"Niisama and I are going with Yugi and his friends to Madam Christina's mansion for a week!" Mokuba declared happily, bouncing down the hallway to his room. "It'll be fun!"  
  
Priest Seto nodded, remembering a previous visit to the woman's house.  
  
"Yes...so long as no one is going to try to rob the place again," he replied with a hint of laughter, but more so of seriousness in his voice.  
  
Mokuba flopped down on his bed, grinning as he snuggled into his covers.  
  
"Yeah..." he agreed, looking up at the priest for a second. "Could you do me a favor?" he asked, Priest Seto raising an eyebrow. "Can you tell niisama to come here for a second?"  
  
Priest Seto smiled, nodding.  
  
  
  
"Sure," he replied, floating out of the room and down the hallway to his reincarnate's bedroom.  
  
Seto was still working on the internet as the spirit floated into the room.  
  
"Mokuba wants to see you," he informed Seto, who, now used to the priest's sudden interruptions, simply saved and closed his application and stood up.  
  
"Thank you," Seto replied, opening the door and walking down the hallway to his younger brother's room, Priest Seto decided to stay in Seto's, so as not to intrude on anything.  
  
  
  
Seto pushed open the door to Mokuba room and walked in, noticing Mokuba all snuggled up in bed.  
  
"So, the bath was nice after all, wasn't it?" Seto asked playfully, sitting down on the edge of the bed, Mokuba turning pink.  
  
"Yeah, okay, so it was," he muttered with an embarrassed grin. "It warmed me up at least."  
  
Seto nodded with a smile.  
  
"I knew it would," he replied. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Mokuba smiled.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to say that I think that we're all gonna have a lot of fun at Madam Christina's place this time," he said, looking up at his brother. "But..."  
  
He trailed off, his smile slightly fading. Seto tilted his head, leaning closer to Mokuba as the little boy looked down at the yellow blanket he was under.  
  
"But what?"  
  
"Well," Mokuba continued. "Last time, all those bad-guys attacked the place, and I don't want THAT to happen again."  
  
Seto smiled.  
  
"It won't," he replied. "I'm sure the woman's improved her security somewhat by now."  
  
Mokuba giggled.  
  
"You sure?" he asked, looking up at Seto with his childish smile.  
  
Seto sighed, still smiling though.  
  
"I, unlike some people, can't see the future," he joked, looking Mokuba in the eye. "But I don't think there'll be any more villains involved with us or that house during our stay."  
  
  
  
Mokuba giggled, giving Seto a hug.  
  
"Okay, niisama," he replied, grinning.  
  
************  
  
Back at Duke's house, the dinner had long since been eaten, right now to the fish bone, thanks to Joey, and the gang were relaxing in the living room on the couches and chairs, while Bakura and Tristan flipped channels.  
  
As Tristan paused on a channel playing Spanish soap operas, Joey sighed, standing up.  
  
"I hate to leave on a full stomach, but I gotta get home," he sighed, looking out the door.  
  
Amber laughed from where she was sitting on the couch, watching the TV screen.  
  
"I bet you'd hate to leave on an empty stomach too," she laughed.  
  
Bakura nodded, standing up.  
  
"Much as I had to admit it, I think Joey's right," he agreed, looking over at the clock. "It's getting late, and I'd better get home."  
  
Yugi nodded too.  
  
"Yeah..." he agreed. "Thanks for dinner and everything you two," he said to Duke and Amber. "It was delicious."  
  
Taerro nodded.  
  
"It was quite superb, and interesting to celebrate," he replied intellectually. "I should do some research on Thanksgiving."  
  
  
  
Amber grinned, flattered.  
  
"Glad it was edible," she replied as the gang headed toward the door.  
  
Tea nodded smiling.  
  
"It was great. Thanks so much," she said, grabbing her jacket off the coat-hanger and walking out the front door, where, to her relief, the snow flurries had stopped for now. "See you at school tomorrow!"  
  
"See you!" Amber and Duke called, waving as everyone headed off through the snow in different directions towards their homes.  
  
Amber closed the door, turning around and facing Duke, smiling happily as the Spanish show continued to play in the other room.  
  
  
  
"Lo siento! Lo siento muchisimo!" A woman's voice cried as Duke grinned turning off the porch light.  
  
"Well, I'd say that Thanksgiving dinner was a success," he commented, looking at Amber her comments.  
  
  
  
Amber nodded in agreement, grinning.  
  
"Yep," she replied. "And probably the most memorable Thanksgiving I've ever had," she said honestly. "The Thanksgiving where we had fish instead of turkey."  
  
Duke laughed and Amber joined in, glad that her friends had enjoyed the meal.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, walking back to her apartment through the cold snow, Ishizu shivered, not used to such cold weather. As she made her way across the street, she felt the snow seeping into her slip-on shoes, making her feet feel like ice.  
  
"I will be glad when winter is over," she murmured to herself, walking up to the apartment complex where she was staying, when suddenly, she whirled around with a gasp, sensing something evil.  
  
Breathing hard, she looking around, narrowing her eyes.  
  
"What...could that have been?" she whispered to herself. "All of the sudden, I felt a strange...presence. As if someone dark had just made themselves known..."  
  
  
  
Swallowing nervously, Ishizu continued on her way into the building and out of the snow, pondering on the strange presence she'd sensed.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 4  
  
REVIEW!  
  
"And next chapter up soon!" ^_~ 


	5. Chapter 5: To Madam's House We Go

Chapter Five: To Madam's House We Go  
  
Notes: ^_^ Well, here we are at Chapter 5, already. XD  
  
"^_^; Yep. Thanks for the reviews, guys."  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Five: To Madam's House We Go  
  
Two weeks passed by fairly quickly in Domino City, the snow refusing the melt and the sky continued to pour down more on the city, occasionally. More Christmas lights were appearing on houses in Yugi's neighborhood, and Duke had even added a neon design of holly next to his Black Crown sign outside his shop.  
  
Brightly lit Christmas trees were set up all around the Kaiba Corporation's lobby, making the building look more cheerful than it usually did, and everyone was beginning to get into the Christmas mood, especially with the long anticipated trip to Madam Christina's only one day away.  
  
Sunday evening, at Tristan's house, he was half-way through dinner with his parents when Mr. Taylor suddenly interrupted the silence with a question.  
  
"Say, Tristan," he asked curiously, looking over at his son. "How do you and your friends plan on getting to this place? Who's driving?"  
  
Tristan gulped. He couldn't believe two weeks had gone by and none of them had bothered to work out driving arrangements. He grinning embarrassedly as he got his reply ready.  
  
"Um...well...I'm sure Kaiba's gonna have his chauffer drive he and Mokuba, and Duke's got a car, so Amber, he, and probably three others can fit in there..." Tristan muttered, trailing off.  
  
That still left four people without a ride to the mansion.  
  
"Hm...need another driver?" Mr. Taylor prompted, looking eager. "I'll be glad to drive you and a few friends again. Our trip over the summer to the beach was SO much fun."  
  
Tristan smiled, trying to be nice. Truth to be told, he and his dad didn't exactly ALWAYS get along together. Mr. Taylor was a scholarly man, and preferred looking at old city monuments to going to eat pizza. But...they did need a ride...  
  
"That would be a wonderful idea," Mrs. Taylor replied, looking over at her husband and son. "I was going to go visit your sister, Tristan, this week anyway, so now you two will have something to do together."  
  
Mr. Taylor beamed.  
  
"Great!" he exclaimed, returning to his dinner. "Just call your friends and let them know the arrangements."  
  
Tristan sighed, looking down at his dinner.  
  
"Yeah...great..." he muttered, picking up his fork and stabbing something on his plate half-heartedly.  
  
************  
  
The next morning, Yugi's alarm clock went off promptly at seven O'clock, its loud and annoying buzz ringing through the entire bedroom. Yugi groaned, pulling his pillow over his head to block out the noise.  
  
Yami suddenly appeared in the room next to his friend's bed, smirking.  
  
"Time to wake up Yugi," he said sternly, but friendly.  
  
Yugi didn't budge. Yami raised an eyebrow, stumped.  
  
"Yugi?" he tried again, leaning closer to lump under Yugi's covers that was his friend.  
  
"Yami...I'm tired," Yugi moaned, clapping his hands over his ears under the covers.  
  
Yami smiled.  
  
"But you'll miss Mr. Taylor's car, and you don't want to miss the trip, now do you?" Yami asked, knowing he'd have Yugi out of the covers in a second after a remark like that.  
  
He was right. Yugi threw off the covers in one swift motion, looking frantic.  
  
"I haven't even packed yet!" he cried hysterically, leaping out of bed and skidding over to his drawers, opening them up and pulling out a set of shirts and some pants.  
  
Yami blinked, not wanting his wake-up call to have made his aibou THIS panicky.  
  
"Yugi..." he began, blinking as Yugi dashed across the room to his other chest of drawers, throwing socks and T-shirts into his suitcase madly. "Mr. Taylor won't be here for another hour..."  
  
This didn't stop Yugi from his mad rush to pack.  
  
"It doesn't matter!" Yugi called, running into the bathroom to get changed. "Thanks for the wake-up call, Yami!"  
  
Yami blinked again.  
  
"Um...you're welcome," he murmured, staring at the door to the bathroom.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Duke was driving his car through Domino, going around to pick up his traveling-crew. Amber sat beside him in the front seat, holding her black suitcase on her lap as she looked out the window.  
  
"So we're supposed to pick up Bakura, Taerro, and Tea?" Amber asked, turning to Duke, whose eyes were glued to the road in front of him.  
  
Over the summer, he'd been driving Mai's car while in pursuit of a possessed-Seto when he'd nearly crashed into a tree because he'd been trying to avoid hitting a cat that had been sitting in the road. Ever since, he'd always paid strict attention when driving.  
  
  
  
"Yep..." he murmured, taking a turn, slowly and easily. "Tristan's dad is going to take Yugi, Joey, and Serenity. And Tristan of course," he added with a laugh. "And of course Kaiba and Mokuba are going by themselves."  
  
Amber rolled her eyes with a smile.  
  
"But of course," she replied with a grin. "I just can't see Kaiba going with any of us."  
  
Duke nodded with a smile as he pulled up in Bakura's driveway, where their white-haired friend was waiting on the porch, pulling behind him with his good arm a rolling backpack, which he was obviously using as a suitcase.  
  
"Hey Bakura!" Amber called, getting out of the car to help Bakura with his luggage.  
  
"Hi...Amber..." Bakura muttered, tugging on his backpack, which had gotten stuck in the snow.  
  
Amber laughed, shivering as she helped dislocate the wheels from the snow and tugged the bag over to car.  
  
"Hop in the back," Amber instructed, putting the suitcase in the trunk. "We've still got to pick up Tea and Taerro before we can head off to Madam Christina's place, though."  
  
Bakura nodded with a smile, getting in the car.  
  
"Sure thing," he replied, buckling up. "Thanks."  
  
Amber grinned as she slammed the trunk down again and ran over to the warm vehicle, climbing in again and shutting the door.  
  
"Next time, Duke..." she murmured, rubbing her hands together furiously. "You're getting out."  
  
  
  
Duke laughed as he started up the car again.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi had almost gotten everything he would need on the trip stowed away in his suitcase. Panting, he looked at the full suitcase, wondering if there was anything he'd missed.  
  
"Yami..." he murmured suddenly, walking over to a small drawer at the bottom of his dresser. "Do you think I should take the Millennium Necklace and Ring with me? Or do you think they'll be safe here?"  
  
As Yugi picked up both of the items, he meditated on how they'd come into his possession. Ishizu had returned the necklace, once again, after using it in the battle with Yami Bakura only a few weeks before, and Yami and Yugi had won the Millennium Ring, fair and square, from Yami Bakura when they'd defeated him.  
  
Yami bit his lip, thinking.  
  
"Maybe you ought to take them, aibou," he suggested, gesturing down at the suitcase. "You never know who, or what, could be after them next, and putting the items in the wrong hands is definitely what we do NOT want to do."  
  
Yugi nodded firmly, tucking both golden items underneath his shirts and then zipped up the suitcase. Determinedly, he tugged on the handle and the suitcase fell to the floor with a heavy thud.  
  
"Whoa..." Yugi cried, looking shocked. "I didn't think I packed all THAT much in there..."  
  
Yami laughed as a car horn beeped outside. Yugi dashed over to the window and wiped off the steamy glass panes to see Mr. Taylor's brown station wagon parked in the driveway, Tristan, Serenity, and Joey waving out the window, looking freezing.  
  
Yugi smiled and waved backed, and then ran over to his suitcase again.  
  
"Yami I gotta get this thing downstairs somehow," he muttered, shoving it over to the door and down the hallway, with great effort. "They're going to want to leave soon."  
  
After five minutes of struggling, Yugi finally managed to get his bag down the stairs and into the front hallway, where his mom and Grandpa were waiting.  
  
"Have fun!" Grandpa said jollily, giving his grandson a squeezing hug.  
  
Mrs. Motou turned to Yugi and looked down at him sternly.  
  
"Now, don't go doing anything reckless, and say with your friends at all times," she instructed, Yugi sighing. "And..."  
  
"Mom!" he interrupted politely, smiling up at his mom. "I'll be fine. And I'll have fun."  
  
Mrs. Motou sighed with a smile, giving Yugi a quick hug.  
  
"All right then, you're just too smart for me, aren't you?" she asked, as she broke away from Yugi. "Have a good time now!" she called as he lugged his bag down the stairs and over to the car, Yami following behind him in spirit form.  
  
"I will! Bye!" Yugi called, as Joey hopped out of the car and put the suitcase in the truck with ease. "See you, Grandpa! Mom!" Yugi called before getting in the back of the car, next to Serenity, who was wearing a fluffy pink coat that was wrapped closely around her.  
  
"Hi, Serenity," he greeted the girl, having not seen her since Duke's Halloween party back in October.  
  
  
  
Serenity smiled, her cheeks pink from the cold as Mr. Taylor backed out, whistling "Jingle Bells" as he did so.  
  
"Hi, Yugi," she replied, grinning.  
  
"Okay...so the gang's all here?" Mr. Taylor asked merrily, turning down the road toward the highway.  
  
Tristan nodded from where he was sitting in the front of the car.  
  
"Yep," he sighed, looking out the window at the snow covered field as they passed Domino High School. "All the others are with Duke, except Kaiba and his brother."  
  
Mr. Taylor grinned happily.  
  
"Okay then!" he declared, turning onto the highway. "Who's up for some Christmas carols?"  
  
Serenity grinned and leaned closer to the front.  
  
"Oh, I know of a good radio station that's playing all Christmas Carols now until Christmas!" she declared, trying to remember the station number. "It was..."  
  
Mr. Taylor laughed merrily, speeding up slightly.  
  
"No, no, I meant SING some carols," he corrected himself, causing the smiles to drop off of nearly everyone's face in the car.  
  
  
  
Tristan looked as though he had been expecting this, as he sighed, looking out the window.  
  
"Uh..." Joey muttered before Mr. Taylor cut in, acting as though everyone had replied with an enthusiastic "YES!"  
  
"Let's start with "Jingle Bells!" he declared, clearing his throat. "Joey can start us off."  
  
Tristan snickered, despite his irritation toward the singing of Christmas carols. Joey blushed red, looking rather embarrassed as Serenity and Yugi both turned to look at him, smiling.  
  
"Go on, oniichan!" Serenity smiled, closing her eyes as she did so. "We'll start singing with you after you start."  
  
Yugi nodded, trying to keep from giggling.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding.  
  
Joey sighed, still beat-red.  
  
"Dashing through the snow..." he began, uncertainly. "In a one horse open sleigh..."  
  
***********  
  
Hundreds of miles away, across an old snowy field, there was a small, black building, that many had believed to have once been a bakery. The old house was now said to be condemned, and the barbed-wire fences all around it were rusted, and breaking.  
  
Inside, however, the rooms that had once been a bakery were all redone and now had the look of a dark and dank office of some sort. Sitting down in a computer-style swivel chair, a young woman with long black hair and dark brown eyes was sitting, her hands folded in front of her chin as she watched the others around her, who looked much less professional, take their seats at the table.  
  
"You are all here," she declared, her voice icy and low as she sat up straighter in her chair. "Excellent."  
  
One of the men sitting in the chairs eyed the woman suspiciously, but his friend beside him elbowed his arm, causing the man to keep any comment he was about to make to himself.  
  
"Now, I assume you want to know the information on this place," The woman continued, looking around at the crew of men with her dark eyes. "I forwarded the e-mail to you, so you should have received the basic information."  
  
The men nodded with a chorus of agreement.  
  
"Yeah..." One man muttered, looking up at her expectantly. "You've been bugging this old hag's e-mail?"  
  
The young woman blinked, staring at the man coldly.  
  
"I do what must be done," she replied icily, her tone obviously telling the man to hold any further comments until later. "Now," she continued, gesturing down to several newspaper clippings on her desk. "I believe you'll need to know what you're in for."  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 5  
  
^_^ Review PLEASE!  
  
"Yes, please do. And we'll get the next chapter up soon." 


	6. Chapter 6: The Arrival

Chapter Six: The Arrival  
  
Notes: ^_^ Here we go on our sixth chapter!  
  
"Thanks for the reviews, everyone!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Six: The Arrival  
  
The black-haired woman faced the men, her eyes narrowed as she turned over a newspaper clipping she had in front of her.  
  
"Last time someone attempted a robbery on this rich madam's house, they were defeated by several teenage children," she explained, sliding the clipping across the table for the men to look at.   
  
"How? You are probably thinking," The woman continued, as the men looked at the picture on the clipping.  
  
It featured Yugi, Tea, Amber, Seto, Duke, and several of the others at Madam Christina's mansion, all smiling.  
  
"These children are far from ordinary though, as they seem to draw power from antique items, and use these powers to overcome enemies," The woman explained, the men exchanging strange glances. "That is how they overcame the last batch of thugs, such as yourselves."  
  
One man raised an eyebrow as he examined the photo.  
  
"They all look like regular ol' kids ter me," he commented, chewing on a piece of tobacco. "Well, 'cept the shrimp who looks like he stuck his finger in a light-socket," he remarked with a husky chuckle, gesturing at Yugi.  
  
The woman narrowed her eyes.  
  
"So they appear," she murmured, sitting back down again. "But notice the golden puzzle around his neck. Another had a circular pendant, a strange key, and the tall boy in the corner has a golden rod. All of these antiques, with the exception of the key, have the same eye symbol on them."  
  
One man sighed in exasperation, frustrated, and clearly feeling that the entire meeting was a waste of time.  
  
"Look, woman," he demanded, standing up. "We didn't pay you to come down here and feed us a bunch of bogus lies that would amuse first-graders. We PAID you to explain to us how to get by this woman's security."  
  
The woman narrowed her eyes, angrily, her eyes showing white-hot anger.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Duke was driving smoothly along the clear highway, the fields beside the roads still hidden beneath inches and inches of snow. Worriedly, Duke took a two-second glance up at the sky, before returning his gaze to the road ahead.  
  
"Hope if it decides to snow, it decides to snow AFTER we get to Madam Christina's," he murmured, feeling slightly anxious.  
  
Amber nodded, shifting her bag around uncomfortably in front of her. There hadn't been enough room for everyone's stuff in the trunk, she she'd kept her bag with her up in the front.  
  
"Uh, I'll say," she murmured, taking a peek out the window. "How much longer, would you say?" she asked, turning to Duke.  
  
From the back, there was a rustle of papers as Taerro pulled out a few maps he'd printed out from MapQuest.com.  
  
"I'd say from our current location..." he murmured, trying to pinpoint where they were. "And calculating in the speed and distance...we've got about an hour and a half until we reach Madam Christina's manor."  
  
Amber sighed, shifting her bag around again.  
  
"Wrong answer, Taerro," she mumbled, feeling too boxed in.  
  
Tea sighed, shoving a bunch of papers Taerro had moved to her lap back over to him as she tried to stretch.  
  
"Yeah..." she murmured, looking outside worriedly. "I really do hope we don't get caught in a storm, though. The weather report said there would be snow later today."  
  
Bakura sighed, leaning against the door slightly.  
  
"That's just great, then," he sighed.  
  
Duke forced a smile, determined to bring everyone's spirits back up again.  
  
  
  
"Do you always trust the weatherman?" he asked brightly, laughing slightly. "I mean, once it said major thunderstorms and all day I don't even think I can remember even one gust of wind, let alone rain."  
  
Amber smiled.  
  
"Well, let's hope the weatherman Tea was listening to is as inaccurate as the one you were," she replied, grinning.  
  
Bakura laughed.  
  
************  
  
The black-haired woman flicked her hair back in irritation, taking a seat once more.  
  
"You paid me for instructions, yes," she said in an extremely cold voice. "I am giving you much more, for you are not facing an aged woman and a group of teenagers," she snapped. "One of those items alone gives the owner enough power to send a person's soul to another realm."  
  
The men stopped looking at the papers that she had handed out and were now looking at the woman with strict attention.  
  
  
  
"Now," she continued, glaring at them. "I have done extensive research on both the group of teenagers and this woman's collection. Within it, unbeknownst to her, I assume, are other items that have similar powers to that of the "Millennium Items," as they are known."  
  
One man raised an eyebrow.  
  
"So if we get can manage to steal one of these "powerful" pieces, we can use the "power" or whatever to beat off the security and kids and take what we want?" he asked, looking excited.  
  
The woman nodded.  
  
"Yes," she replied, standing up. "I can show you pictures of the locations in the house of these few items in the next room," she explained, gesturing for the door. "Go in."  
  
As all the men got up from their seats, and with scrapes of the metal chair legs against the ground and the shuffle of footsteps, they trooped into the next room.  
  
As they left, the woman sat down in her chair neatly, gazing at a group snapshot of Yugi, Seto, Joey, Bakura, and the others. She smiled evilly to herself, grinning at the picture.  
  
"Just how powerful ARE these, Millennium Items?" she murmured to herself, twirling back and forth slowly in her swivel chair. "Well, I'll see now, won't I?"  
  
************  
  
"...I'll be home...for Christmas..." Joey panted, his throat beginning to get sore from all the singing, and he was beginning to loose his voice as he and the others continued singing carols.  
  
Serenity looked pleadingly up at Tristan, who was merely humming half-heartedly along with Joey, Mr. Taylor, and Yugi's singing. Tristan sighed, wondering if his dad had grown tired of the carols yet as they finished up "I'll be Home for Christmas."  
  
Mr. Taylor laughed merrily.  
  
"Ah, I remember old road-trips like these around Christmas-time when I was your age," he said happily, as he continued to drive down a straight road as the sun was starting to set outside. "We sang carols all the way up to my grandmother's house."  
  
Tristan bit his lip, almost hating to interrupt his dad's nostalgic little memory talk.  
  
"Um...dad?" he asked, hoping he wasn't going to sound too rude. "Can we take a break from the...you know, singing? We're getting a little tired..."  
  
Mr. Taylor laughed as he turned to the right and stopped at a large gate.  
  
"Well, you don't have to do anymore singing, I guess," he told Tristan, grinning. "We're there."  
  
Joey's eyes lit up and he forgot all about his sore throat.  
  
"We ARE?!" he asked excitedly, looking out the window at the huge mansion.  
  
Yugi sighed, smirking, relieved to finally be there.  
  
"Yeah, and Joey didn't even ask, "are we there yet?" once!" Tristan exclaimed sarcastically, throwing a grin at Joey, who didn't look very impressed with his friend's sense of humor.  
  
"TRISTAN!" he cried, slapping his forehead as the others, even Serenity, chuckled.  
  
Yugi grinned as the gate opened up and they continued up the driveway toward the house.  
  
"Well, we're finally here!" Yugi announced, grinning at Yami, who, unseen by everyone else, had been in the car as well, watching in amusement the group of singing teenagers.  
  
Joey sighed, leaning against the window, causing it to fog up a little.  
  
"I'll say," he sighed. "And just in time too. Another two minutes of singing and I'd have completely lost my voice."  
  
************  
  
Within ten minutes of each other, Seto and Duke arrived at the mansion as well, and everyone got out of their vehicles and into the cold, crisp, winter air. Amber shivered as she got out of Duke's car, stretching her legs.  
  
"I'd rather be cold than cramped, I guess," she muttered to herself, looking around and spotting Seto and Mokuba getting their bags out of the trunk, and Yugi and Joey in the window of the mansion, looking out at them cheerily.  
  
"Hey, Joey and the others are already here!" Tea pointed out, pointing up at the window.  
  
Duke sighed, getting out of the car.  
  
"Guess that MapQuest isn't as reliable as you thought, Taerro," he pointed out to his black-haired friend, who was gathering up all his loose papers from the floor of the car.  
  
Taerro shrugged, wiping off his glasses as Bakura stepped out of the car as well. Priest Seto was overlooking everyone from up near the second floor, watching as they got their things out of the trunks and laughed together, enjoying themselves.  
  
"Hm..." he murmured, looking into the distance at the snow-covered trees and fields.  
  
Something, however, even in this peaceful environment, just didn't seem right to him. It was almost as if a strange presence was around, just as had been last time.  
  
"But it can't be from Bakura, nor from Taerro," The priest murmured to himself, looking down at the teens again. "Perhaps...is it from the house itself?"  
  
"Hey, priest!"  
  
Priest Seto looked down and saw Mokuba waving up at him.  
  
"We're going in! Aren't you coming?" he called, grinning excitedly.  
  
Priest Seto nodded with a smile and floating down to join his reincarnate and the others as they made their way into the mansion, where Yugi, Joey, Serenity, Tristan, Mr. Taylor, and Bob, a security guard and worker at the mansion they had met during their last visit, were waiting for them.  
  
"Hey guys!" Yugi called, waving as they wiped off their snowy shoes on the doormat and hurried out of the cold weather and into the warmth of the mansion.  
  
Bakura smiled.  
  
"So you beat us, eh?" he asked, looking around at the large Christmas tree that was set up in the living room, with no lights or decorations on it yet.  
  
Joey smirked.  
  
"Guess so," he replied, looking smug. "Maybe Mr. Taylor's a better driver than I thought."  
  
Mr. Taylor beamed, looked pleased with himself, but to be modest, changed the topic.  
  
"Where is this Madam Christina woman?" he asked, looking around for some sign of their old friend.  
  
Seto glanced up the large staircase, expecting to see Madam Christina lurking around somewhere, but she was nowhere in sight. Bob, however, smiled as he put down a large tray of hot chocolate and cookies.  
  
Joey's eyes lit up at the sight of the cookies as Bob answered Mr. Taylor's question.  
  
  
  
"Madam Christina will be with you in a moment," he assured them, walking toward the stairs. "I'll let her know you're here."  
  
Yugi smiled after him as the man walked away and Joey took three cookies and sat down in a chair. Bakura, Mokuba, and Taerro took a loveseat across from the couch, where Tea, Yugi, Amber, and Duke were sitting. Mr. Taylor, Seto, and Tristan remained standing and Serenity was gazing out the window at the sparkly, snow-covered lawn.  
  
"So...guess Jim ain't working here anymore," Joey muttered through a mouthful of cookie.  
  
Jim had been another worker at the mansion, but had betrayed Madam Christina and they had discovered he'd been working with a bunch of thieves the entire time.  
  
Seto crossed his arms, looking around the living room at the number of large antique vases that were resting peacefully on pedestals around the room. Madam Christina really does have a penchant those antiques, he thought to himself.  
  
"So...what do you think we're gonna do?" Mokuba asked, taking a sip of hot chocolate as he looked over at the others.  
  
Bakura shrugged, managing to get a cup of hot chocolate one-handedly, and returned to his seat.  
  
"I don't know," he murmured, his eyes wandering over to the undecorated tree in the corner. "Perhaps one thing would be to decorate that tree over there."  
  
Yugi nodded, taking a sip of his drink as well.  
  
"That would make the room more festive-looking," Duke agreed.  
  
Amber put her hand to her chin thoughtfully.  
  
"I still think that she might do another Duel Monster's-related thing," she put in. "I mean, she did hold that tournament on that island once."  
  
Tristan nodded as Mr. Taylor adjusted his glasses as he leaned closer to a vase in order to examine it more fully.  
  
"True," he agreed.  
  
Priest Seto was looking curiously at the Christmas tree, as was Yami.  
  
"I wonder what the purpose of the tree is for," The priest murmured to himself as there was a creak on the staircase, and everyone turned around to see a grinning Madam Christina walking in the room.  
  
"You've made it!" she exclaimed, giving Yugi, who was the closest to her, a tight hug. "How good it is to see you again!"  
  
Yugi blushed red as Madam Christina let go of him again, and he stepped back a few steps.  
  
"It's...good to see you too!" he replied, smiling.  
  
The others nodded in agreement.  
  
"Thank you for inviting us," Serenity added politely, smiling over at the woman.  
  
Mokuba, curiosity getting the better of him, spoke up suddenly.  
  
"So what are we going to do?" he asked, grinning.  
  
Madam Christina smiled a sly smile, looking very excited all of a sudden. She looked around at Yugi, Joey, Mokuba, and all the others, a youthful twinkle in her eye.  
  
"I have many, MANY activities planned for all of you," she replied with a smile. "And I'm sure you'll enjoy them all."  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter Six  
  
^_^ REVIEW! PLEASSSSEEE!!  
  
"And next chapter up soon! ^_~" 


	7. Chapter 7: Holiday Fun

Chapter Seven: Holiday Fun  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for the reviews!  
  
"And here's chapter seven!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Seven: Holiday Fun  
  
Everyone's eyes widened as Madam Christina finished talking, and a silence fell over the room. Finally, Joey spoke up.  
  
"Sounds like fun," he declared, looking at the others for approval as he grabbed another cookie off the plate. "Don't you think?"  
  
Yugi nodded quickly.  
  
"Yeah!" he agreed, smiling.  
  
Activities were usually like games, and there was nothing Yugi liked more than playing games with his friends. Madam Christina beamed as everyone nodded and murmured in approval.  
  
"Well, I'm sure you all are tired from your long trip," Madam Christian spoke up suddenly, looking toward the kitchen. "Go find yourselves a guest room and get settled in, and then come back downstairs for dinner."  
  
Yugi suddenly realized that he hadn't eaten anything since the hurried breakfast of toast and juice that morning before leaving, and now realized he was quite hungry.  
  
Joey's stomach growled, despite the fact he had just eaten several of Madam Christina's cookies.  
  
"Okay, good idea," Tea commented, walking toward the stairs with her suitcase. "Amber? You want to share a room again? And Serenity, you too."  
  
Amber smiled and hurried after Tea, a few marbles she kept in her pocket jingling as she ran. Serenity nodded, going after Amber as well.  
  
"Sure!" she agreed, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she followed Amber and Tea up the stairs.  
  
Yugi glanced over at Madam Christina once more before making his way up the stairs to his room.  
  
"Thanks again for inviting us," he said with a smile.  
  
Madam Christina beamed.  
  
"Thank YOU for coming," she replied, pointing up the stairs. "Just take any rooms on the second floor there. They're all empty."  
  
Duke smiled and nodded as he lugged his suitcase and half of Bakura's up the stairs.  
  
"Okay!" he called back as he and Bakura dragged the bag upstairs.  
  
***********  
  
Priest Seto stared out the window of Seto and Mokuba's guest room as Seto unzipped his suitcase and began transferring the clothes and things from the bag to the empty and highly polished wood drawers.  
  
Mokuba sat on the neatly made bed, grinning as he rocked back and forth, watching his older brother.  
  
"Niisama?" he asked, smiling.  
  
"Hm?" Seto replied, closing a full drawer and opening another one as he continued to transfer their belongings to the drawers.  
  
"What kinds of activities do you think Madam Christina has planned for us?" he asked, a childish twinkle in his eye as he thought about it.  
  
Seto smiled at his brother's enthusiasm.  
  
"I don't know, really," he replied, closing up the last drawer. "Probably something fun, I assume."  
  
  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes as the strange feeling he'd sensed outside continued to grow.  
  
"Do you feel uneasy being here again?" he asked, cutting into the two brother's conversation.  
  
Mokuba raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well...a little..." he admitted, looking over at the priest. "Why?"  
  
Seto sighed, narrowing his eyes. Did the priest HAVE to bring this up when Mokuba was just acting so happy and carefree?  
  
Priest Seto shrugged, knowing that someone like Mokuba couldn't sense the same things he could. Perhaps it was just his imagination about it all...  
  
"No reason," he replied, turning around with a small smile. "Just curiosity, that's all."  
  
Mokuba smiled back.  
  
"Okay," he replied, looking over at Seto. "Should we go down to dinner now, niisama?"  
  
Seto nodded, walking toward the door.  
  
"Sure," he replied, waiting for Mokuba to catch up to him before walking out into the hallway.  
  
Priest Seto, however, didn't follow right away. He was still staring out the window, thinking.  
  
  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi put his suitcase down on his bed in the room he was going to share with Joey and Duke. Joey and Duke had dumped their things on their beds and then hurried back downstairs to dinner, but Yugi had wanted some time to himself...and also some time to talk to Yami.  
  
"Yami?" he asked, starting to unzip his suitcase. "Do you think the activities Madam Christina was talking about are going to be fun?"  
  
Yami shrugged, honestly.  
  
"I really don't know Yugi," he replied truthfully. "I suppose they could be but..."  
  
Just as Yugi had unzipped his suitcase, however, a large, round, brown fluff-ball popped out, squeaking wildly, cutting Yami off.  
  
"KURI!" Kuribo cried, bouncing back and forth happily.  
  
Yami looked embarrassed as Yugi, shocked, watched the little critter hop around the bed.  
  
  
  
"Yami...why is your Ka in my suitcase?" Yugi asked, sweating as Kuribo continued to squeak.  
  
Yami gulped, feeling silly. He'd only discovered that he, like Priest Seto, could summon a monster without a Millennium Item's aid a few weeks ago. This monster was also part of his soul, and was known as his Ka. It was also a Kuribo.  
  
"Kuri! Kuri!" Kuribo squeaked, snuggling up against Yami's cheek and then bouncing off the top of Yugi's head and onto the pillow. "KURI!"  
  
Yugi smiled, slightly confused still.  
  
"Um...I don't know," Yami replied, sighing. "I didn't know it could summon itself out either."  
  
"Kuri!" Kuribo agreed with a nod, jumping back into the suitcase and rustling around in Yugi's T-shirts and pants.  
  
Yugi looked nervous now.  
  
"Hey! Get out of my clothes!" he cried, fishing around in the sea of shirs and pants for the Kuribo. "You'll hit your head on the Millennium Items!" he added, warningly.  
  
"Kuri!" Kuribo cried, popping out of the suitcase, proudly holding up with its two stubby green arms a long white robe of some sort, trimmed with gold and purple.   
  
The outfit looked suspiciously like...  
  
"My Halloween costume?!" Yugi cried, his mouth dropping. "I didn't pack that!"  
  
He paused, thinking back to his rush to pack that morning.  
  
  
  
"Er...well, maybe I did..." he muttered, feeling ridiculous.  
  
Kuribo nodded, shaking the outfit.  
  
"Kuri!" It cried, coming toward Yugi with it.  
  
Yugi backed away, not knowing exactly what the Kuribo had in mind for him.  
  
"Listen...I don't wear that thing on a normal basis," he explained nervously, grinning, not wanting to upset the thing. "It's just a dress-up outfit..."  
  
Yami, suddenly realizing why the Kuribo was insisting Yugi wear the outfit, burst out laughing. Yugi blinked in confusion, looking out at his partner for help.  
  
"Yami!" he cried indignantly, irritated. "What's so funny?"  
  
"Kuri?" Kuribo asked in confusion, its arms drooping slightly.  
  
Yami smiled up at the two.  
  
"Kuribo probably wants you to wear that because that's what it remembers ME wearing back in the past," Yami laughed, Yugi turning slightly pink.  
  
"Oh!" Yugi laughed, grinning. "Oh!"  
  
Kuribo blinked, confused.  
  
"Kuri?" It asked, tilting its head to the side.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Amber and Tea had unpacked their things in the room they would be sharing with Serenity, Mr. Taylor was sharing a room with Tristan, and Bakura and Taerro were sharing a room as well.  
  
As Yugi hurried down the stairs to the dining room, he noticed that everyone else was already seated and waiting for the food to be brought out. Madam Christina was sitting at one end of the table, and Mr. Taylor was sitting at the other.  
  
In front of each of the plates, with the exception of Madam Christina's, was a small, white box. Joey was softly shaking his, and Taerro was examining his. Bakura smiled as he noticed Yugi walk into the room.  
  
"Hey, Yugi!" he called, waving as Yugi took the last empty seat next to Seto.  
  
  
  
Yugi smiled.  
  
"Hey," he replied, looking up at Madam Christina. "Sorry if I'm late or something..."  
  
She merely smiled and shook her head.  
  
"Late for what?" she asked airily with a laugh as a few cooks came out with delicious-looking dishes that didn't just make Joey's mouth water.  
  
"Wow!" Tristan exclaimed, as a delectable fish-dish was placed on the table in front of he and Mokuba. "That looks great!"  
  
Amber grinned, the fish reminding her of their Thanksgiving dinner.  
  
"Yeah," she agreed, sniffing in the air. "Much better than my fish."  
  
Duke laughed, glancing over at her.  
  
  
  
"Come on," he laughed, smiling. "Your fish was good too."  
  
As the dishes continued to be placed on the table one by one, the hungry look in everyone's eyes continued to grow. Madam Christina smiled as the last dish was placed on the table.  
  
"I know you all are hungry," she admitted, looking around at her guests. "But there is one thing you must do before you eat."  
  
Joey looked up at her anxiously.  
  
"What?!" he cried, not sure if he could wait even a few more minutes.  
  
Madam Christina chuckled, gesturing toward Amber's white box that was sitting in front of her.  
  
"Each of you has a small white box in front of you," Madam Christina explained, picking Amber's up to show the others. "Inside is a small gift for you, which I'd like for you to open up now."  
  
She handed Amber's back to her, and Amber smiled.  
  
"Thank you," Amber said, pulling up the top flap and peering inside as the others did the same. "Wow!"  
  
Reaching inside, she pulled out a small silver ring, with little detailed designs engraved on it.  
  
"It's wonderful looking!" Amber exclaimed, trying the ring on. "Thanks!"  
  
Madam Christina smiled as she looked around at the others as they opened up their gifts. Mr. Taylor had received a ring similar to Amber's and Tristan had gotten a detailed watchband. Bakura had gotten a small painted carving, and Taerro had gotten a necklace of a gray piece of stone with a blue gem in the center. Tea and Mokuba had both gotten similar necklaces, only with green and red stones in theirs.  
  
Yugi had gotten a small bowl with painted designs on it, Seto had gotten a small keychain of a gray piece of stone with the kanji for idea on it, Joey, a keychain like Seto's, and Serenity had received a small, painted clay figure.  
  
"Cool," Joey muttered, letting his clay keychain end dangle in front of him. "Thanks."  
  
Mokuba nodded, putting his necklace on, the red gem in the center gleaming.  
  
"Yeah! I like it," he agreed, grinning.  
  
Madam Christina beamed.  
  
"I'm glad you all like them so much," she replied, flattered. "I thought it would be a good way to start off our little week of holiday fun."  
  
While speaking, her eyes wandered to the steaming dishes on the table in front of them.  
  
"And now, we can eat," she said simply, winking at Joey, who dove in the rice the instant the words had left her mouth.  
  
"Yay!" Tristan cried, just as eager as Joey to eat this time.  
  
Mr. Taylor raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Mind your manners, Tristan," he reminded his son politely, Tristan sighing as he eyed the fish across the table.  
  
"Tea, please pass the fish," he muttered in a "trying-to-be-polite" manner.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, there was a tap on the door of the Game Shop as the cold winter wind blasted by outside. A few moments later, Grandpa opened the door to reveal Ishizu, dressed in a large, purple overcoat, looking worried.  
  
  
  
"May I help you?" Grandpa asked, raising an eyebrow at the Egyptian woman.  
  
Ishizu nodded slightly.  
  
"May I speak to Yugi?" she asked seriously, her blue eyes half-closed because of the snow that was flying around in the wind.  
  
Grandpa sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Yugi's gone off to visit a friend in another city for a week," he apologized. "Is there anything I can help you with?"  
  
Ishizu bit her lip, turning away.  
  
"No, there is not," she replied, walking down the stairs. "Have a nice holiday."  
  
Grandpa blinked, confused, as Ishizu walked away in the darkening evening roads.  
  
"You too..." he murmured, watching after her for a moment before closing the door.  
  
************  
  
Ishizu sighed, closing her eyes as she approached the airport. True to her promise to Malik, she was going back to Egypt for Christmas, but she hadn't wanted to leave without first paying Yugi a visit...and warning him.  
  
"Stay alert, Pharaoh," she murmured to herself, biting her lip as snow blew into her face.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 7  
  
^_^ REVIEW, PLEASE!  
  
"^_~ Yep! And next chapter up soon!" 


	8. Chapter 8: Snowballs and Decking the Hal...

Chapter Eight: Snowballs and Decking the Halls  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reading and reviewing! And yes, it's fun right now, but SOMETHING will happen. ^_~  
  
"Here's great chapter 8!"  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Eight: Snowballs and Decking the Halls  
  
After the last remains of dessert had faded from the table, (Joey and Tristan made sure of that) everyone retired to the living room again, where Bob had turned on the gas fire in the fireplace, which was crackling merrily, making the room feel more festive.  
  
"Man, that was SOME meal," Joey remarked, sitting down on the couch, rubbing his stomach. "I don't think I've eaten that much since..."  
  
Tristan chuckled.  
  
"...You ate Thanksgiving dinner over at Duke's," he muttered, filling in Joey's sentence for him.  
  
Amber smiled, admiring her ring as Duke sat down next to her.  
  
"Thanks again for the little gifts, Madam Christina," Tea said politely, smiling over at Madam Christina, who was sitting in between Yugi and Bakura on the loveseat.  
  
Madam Christina grinned.  
  
"I'm just glad you like them, dear," she replied, looking around at the others. "And I'm glad you all liked the meal."  
  
Bakura smiled, feeling full, and all the food and the nice warm fire was causing him to become drowsy.  
  
"Yes, it was delicious," he murmured, fingering his little carving. "And the item is nice too."  
  
Yugi smiled over at Yami, who was admiring the vase Mr. Taylor had been looking at earlier. Priest Seto was still nowhere in sight, a fact which struck Seto as odd. Normally the priest was always around, but ever since they'd gotten to the mansion, he'd stayed out of sight.  
  
"Strange..." Seto murmured to himself, wondering if something could be amiss.  
  
After an hour or so of talking, slowly, everyone got up to go upstairs to bed. The first was Bakura, who had nearly fallen asleep in the middle of a game of checkers with Mr. Taylor. Taerro went upstairs after his friend, and soon, only Yugi and Joey were left.  
  
Joey was staring into the fire, looking rather sleepy himself, and Yugi was just admiring his gift from Madam Christina.  
  
"It was sure nice of her to give us these things, don't you think, Joey?" Yugi asked, smiling as he looked at it.  
  
He looked over at Joey, wondering why he hadn't responded, when he noticed that Joey was fast asleep. Grinning, Yugi looked over at Yami.  
  
"Well, I guess we should turn off the fire and head to bed ourselves, huh, Yami?" he asked with a smile.  
  
Yami nodded, chuckling as Joey snored.  
  
Quietly, Yugi flicked the switch on the fireplace and walked over to Joey, feeling a little nervous.  
  
"Um...Joey?" he murmured, shaking his friend gently. "Let's go upstairs. Then you can go to bed again."  
  
Joey opened one eye, and noticed Yugi standing beside him in the dark room with a small grin.  
  
"Huh? Is it dinner time already?" he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Yugi couldn't help but laugh.  
  
************  
  
Upstairs, Mokuba had already gotten his pajamas on and was admiring his gray necklace with the red stone in the center as he lay on his stomach on the quilt covering his bed.  
  
Priest Seto floated through the wall behind him and glanced down at the bed, surprised to see Mokuba there.  
  
"Oh, hello Mokuba," he greeted the boy, who looked up at him with an excited grin.  
  
"Hey, priest!" he replied, rolling over to look up at Priest Seto, who floated down toward the end of the bed. "Guess what? Madam Christina gave everyone a little gift, and look what mine was!"  
  
He held out the necklace, the gray stone and gem twirling around as he dangled it out. Priest Seto looked curiously at it.  
  
"It looks very interesting..." he mused, looking at the gem. "Very interesting...Do you like it?"  
  
Mokuba nodded eagerly.  
  
"Yeah!" he cried, grinning, putting the necklace down on the table next to his bed as Seto walked back into the room, wearing his dark blue pajamas and a dark purple robe.  
  
He smiled as Mokuba, who looked wide-awake as he looked over at his brother.  
  
"Hey, niisama," he smiled as Seto took off his robe and hung it over a chair near his bed. "Do you like the charm thing you got from that lady?"  
  
Seto nodded, glancing over at his keychain that was lying on the table near Mokuba's necklace.  
  
"Yes," he replied. "And you like your necklace, I assume?"  
  
Mokuba nodded, giggling.  
  
"Yeah! I think it's cool," he replied, crawling across his quilt and over to the end of the bed, looking over at his brother. "Do we have to go to bed right now?"  
  
Priest Seto chuckled, floating over to the table and examining the charm and the necklace, interested, as Madam Christina's items were always antiques of some sorts.  
  
"Who knows?" he thought to himself with a chuckle. "I may see something that someone I knew wore back in Ancient Egypt if I keep looking."  
  
Seto smiled, leaning over his bed and ruffling Mokuba's hair.  
  
"Yes, it's time for bed," he said firmly, still smiling. "It's been a long day, and you want to have fun with these activities tomorrow, right?"  
  
Mokuba nodded, smiling sadly.  
  
"Yeah..." he muttered, his eyelids drooping. "I do..."  
  
Seto smiled, going over to Mokuba and tucking him in.  
  
"Then go to sleep now," he said, Mokuba smiling up at him.  
  
"Okay..." Mokuba muttered sleepily, closing his eyes as he started to fall asleep.  
  
  
  
Seto sighed, turning off the lights and walking over to his own bed. He climbed in and pulled up the covers, feeling slightly uncomfortable in a different bed than usual.  
  
  
  
"There must just be something about a bed your used to..." he murmured out loud, rolling over.  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow, his spiritual body giving off a faint glow in the darkness.  
  
"Hm?" he asked, looking over at Seto, who was facing the window.  
  
"Nothing..." Seto murmured. "Good night."  
  
Priest Seto smirked, floating back toward the walls, intent on exploring the mansion during the night.  
  
"Good night, Seto Kaiba," he called back before disappearing through the doorway.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, down a dark alley in Egypt, a man dressed in a white robe with a large turban on his head was walking down the streets, a strange ankh around his neck.  
  
Shadi looked around skeptically, sensing something suspicious. In fact, he thought to himself as he walked silently along, he'd been sensing something peculiar since the beginning of November.  
  
"Has an evil being been arosed to action?" he murmured to himself as he turned a corner, when suddenly, the Millennium Key around his neck lit up brilliantly, and there was a cry of fear from a few common people behind him.  
  
Shadi whirled around to see a strange man, with a pale face and a blue glow coming from his long-nailed hands. Shadi's eyes widened as the two people the strange man was standing over fell down and the blue glow died away.  
  
"Egypt will be mine..." The man hissed, a strange medallion around his neck gleaming as he turned to face Shadi.  
  
His eyebrows went up as he noticed the key around Shadi's neck, and he smirked.  
  
"Ah...a Millennium Item..." he murmured, walking forward. "You are much too annoying to stay alive...I must destroy you, and take your item..."  
  
Shadi narrowed his eyes as the man leapt at him, but the key lit up once more, and deflected the attack, causing the man to fall backwards, his black cape falling over his body.  
  
"What are you and why do you wish to attack me?" Shadi demanded, eyes narrowed at the man as he sprang to his feet, glaring at the Millennium Key.  
  
"It is none of your concern at the moment," The strange man hissed, starting to disappear into the misty night. "Just know I am soon to be the conqueror of all of Egypt!"  
  
With a cackle, the man disappeared, leaving Shadi looking out into the empty mist, eyes narrowed.  
  
"We shall see," he murmured in reply.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, over in America, a little white-haired girl lay in bed, thinking about the Christmas season. Sitting up in bed, by the light of the moon outside, she reached up to her neck and undid the clasp that bound her thin chain together.  
  
Pulling it off, she dangled it in front of her to admire the pearl that was in the middle of the chain. That pearl had caused a lot of trouble for Amber, Duke, and all of Yugi's other friends, the girl thought to herself. But now its powers are gone. For good.  
  
Sighing, Pearl lay her necklace down on her bedside table beside her bed, then laid back down on her pillow. Sometimes, she thought to herself, I wish the pearl were still magical. Then I'd have a special quality that would be helpful to everyone else. Right now, I'm just...me.  
  
She grinned and looked up at the ceiling, remembering how she had already made plans with Amber to come back to America a few days before Christmas and spend the rest of her vacation at home.  
  
"And the best part is..." Pearl murmured to herself, falling asleep. "It's not just Amber who's coming to visit..."  
  
***********  
  
Downstairs in the silent mansion, there was a small click and a creak, as if a door had been opened. Quiet, but still audible footsteps wandered around downstairs in the lower rooms, but everyone was sound asleep upstairs, unable to hear.  
  
Everyone, that was, except Bakura who was walking down the hallway aimlessly, trying to find the bathroom. The mansion was so big, and having only visited once before, he'd completely forgotten his way around the place.  
  
"Oh," he muttered, sighing, squinting down the dark hallway. "I don't even know how to get back to my room anymore," he muttered, biting his lip, wondering how much longer he could wait.  
  
He turned a corner, bumping his cast up against the wall as he did so, causing someone downstairs to make a quick movement. Bakura's ears perked up as he stopped in his tracks, shocked.  
  
"Who could still be awake?" he murmured worriedly, walking toward the long set of stairs that led to the first floor.  
  
With wide eyes, he noticed, as he leaned over the railing near the stairs, that a light was on downstairs. Gulping, he screwed up the courage to speak, figuring it was probably only Bob, or maybe Joey getting a midnight snack...  
  
"Hello? Is someone down there?" he called, causing the light to suddenly turn off and the sound of hurried footsteps toward the back door filling the air.  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow, starting down the stairs himself as he heard the back door slam.  
  
"Who's there?!" he cried, almost halfway down the stairs.  
  
"Bakura?"  
  
Bakura gasped and whirled around to see Taerro standing up at the top of the stairs, putting on his glasses and looking extremely tired. Bakura looked worriedly up at his friend.  
  
"Hey Taerro?" he asked, looking down the stairs again. "I think there was someone downstairs a second ago. The lights were on and as soon as I called out to ask who was there, they turned off and someone ran out the back door."  
  
Taerro raised an eyebrow, coming down the stairs himself.  
  
"Really?" he asked, glancing around the living room. "It doesn't look like anything had changed since we went up to bed."  
  
Bakura bit his lip. Could it have been my imagination? He thought to himself. No! It was real! I know it!  
  
  
  
He sighed, realizing he had yet to have found the bathroom.  
  
"Um...Taerro?" he asked, looking rather embarrassed. "Do you know where the bathroom is?"  
  
Taerro laughed.  
  
**********  
  
The next morning, everyone woke to a wonderful breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and all sorts of other good breakfast foods. After that, everyone helped pull out all Madam Christina's antique ornaments, along with some not-so-antique ones, and helped decorate her tree.  
  
Joey and Tristan set to work outside setting lights up on her house along with Bob, Seto, a few other workers, and Duke's help. Amber and Serenity decided to bake some cookies while Tea and Yugi worked on getting knots out of a garland for the banister up the stairs.  
  
Yami and Priest Seto weren't doing much to help, but were instead exploring the mansion, and watching the others perform their duties. Christmas, Priest Seto thought, looked like a lot of fun, although I don't think I'll ever like that...snow stuff.  
  
Bakura, Taerro, and Mokuba, meanwhile, were uncovering a car that had been piled high with snow during the most recent snowstorm, which had occurred overnight.  
  
Mokuba shivered, the necklace around his neck flapping back and forth against his coat.  
  
"Boy it's cold out here," he chattered, brushing off a heap of snow that was stuck on the windshield to the ground.  
  
Bakura nodded, using right arm to brush the snow off the windows while Taerro was tackling the roof.  
  
"Yeah...it is," he muttered in reply, looking up at the gray sky. "And it looks like we're only in for more snow!"  
  
Mokuba giggled, making a snowball with his hands as Taerro finished up with the rest of the car and tossed it at the black-haired boy. Taerro gasped as the snowball smacked into his face, but he grinned as he wiped the snow off and formed a ball of his own.  
  
"You know what they say," he called, as Mokuba started to run toward the other side of the house. "What comes around goes around!"  
  
With that, he ran after the boy, Bakura trailing behind them. As soon as they rounded the corner, Taerro took aim and threw the ball around the corner, where it hit Seto, who was walking that way, in the face!  
  
Taerro bit his lip, shrinking down.  
  
"Um...sorry...I didn't mean to hit you..." he murmured, feeling stupid, when Seto, instead of looking angry, smirked and made a snowball himself, and threw it back at Taerro, who ducked, letting the snowball hit Bakura's jacket behind him.  
  
"Aw, cool!" Joey declared, running up and noticing everyone covered in snow. "Snowball fight!"  
  
And with that, everyone outside began packing and throwing snowballs at each other in the all-out snowball fight.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 8  
  
^_^ REVIEW!  
  
"And next chapter up soon! ^_~" 


	9. Chapter 9: Fights

Chapter Nine: Fights  
  
Notes: ^_^ Chapter nine!  
  
"And thanks for reviewing everyone! And yes, that was the Vampire Lord, and yes, that was the next story's preview. XD"  
  
*********  
  
Chapter Nine: Fights  
  
"Oo, you're gonna get it now, Kaiba!" Joey called from behind Madam Christina's car, where he was ducking snowballs from both of the Kaiba brothers.  
  
Bakura had taken refuge behind a bush and was throwing out snowballs at a slow pace at anyone who was open and unsuspecting. Taerro, determined to get revenge for the original snowball, tossed a huge one at Mokuba, who squealed and ducked, allowing Seto to get knocked over by it.  
  
"Ha ha!" Joey laughed, falling over in the snow. "You lose, Kaiba!"  
  
There was a chuckle from above him and he looked up to see Bob, a smirk on his face and giant snowball in his hands.  
  
"And so do you," he replied with a grin, dropping the snowball on Joey, who looked horrified.  
  
Seto, standing up and wiping snow off of his purple coat, laughed as he watched Joey struggle around under the massive heap of snow that had been piled on top of him.  
  
Even Taerro stopped his snowball making to laugh at Joey, who looked very displeased at the turn of events.  
  
"Hey! Help me out here!" he called as Duke tossed another snowball at Bob, who quickly ducked.  
  
***********  
  
Tea looked up from the strand of garland she'd just wrapped around the front banister and over at Yugi, who was taping the last strand of his on the banister on the other side of the stairs.  
  
"What is everyone outside doing?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "They've been out there for nearly an hour! I don't think hanging up lights could take THAT long."  
  
Yugi was about to reply when Amber and Serenity, laughing, walked into the room, the front of Serenity's pink pullover sweater streaked with flour. Amber looked over at Yugi and Tea and grinned.  
  
"Hey, nice work," Amber said with a wink. "Where're the other guys? We made peanut butter and wishing cookies."  
  
Yugi grinned as he watched Yami float into the kitchen.  
  
"Um...I think they're still outside," Tea murmured, looking out the foggy window to see, when the front door opened.  
  
Amber gasped as a snow-covered, soggy and droopy-looking group walked in the front hall, snow melting off their clothes and dripping onto the rugs.  
  
"What happened to you?!" she cried, trying not to laugh as Duke pushed back his soggy bangs and grinned.  
  
"Massive snowball fight," Joey replied, wiping snow out of his eye. "I won, too."  
  
Seto rolled his eyes as Bakura chuckled, smirking at Joey.  
  
"Actually, I think Bob won," he replied, gesturing to the man, who was getting a large plastic bin.  
  
"All right," Bob announced, putting the bin down on the floor. "Everyone put their wet things in here, and I'll get them dried."  
  
As everyone pulled off their jackets and dumped them into the bin, Tea raised an eyebrow at Joey.  
  
"Joey, are you sure you didn't just go swimming?" she asked playfully, causing Joey to grit his teeth.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure," he replied in a forced-calm voice, pulling off his shoes before stepping on the stairs. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get changed."  
  
Amber sighed as Duke dumped his jacket and vest into the plastic bin and stepped off the rug.  
  
  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you guys were going to have a snowball fight?" she asked, grinning.  
  
Duke smiled back, looking rather embarrassed.  
  
"Well, it all happened so fast there wasn't time to go invite anyone else," he replied.  
  
"Yeah," Bakura agreed, smiling as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment.  
  
Yugi smiled.  
  
"Well, we made lots of cookies," Serenity announced looking around at the others. "So after you get changed you can try them."  
  
Mokuba's eyes lit up as he tried to move past Taerro and Tea to get up the stairs.  
  
"That sounds great!" he exclaimed, walking past the two, when suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, causing Taerro to back up into Bakura and Seto, and Tea to fall into Yugi.  
  
Then, just as soon as it had come, it disappeared. For a moment afterwards, no one moved. Then, Mokuba gulped.  
  
"What was that?" Tea asked shakily, standing up again.  
  
Taerro shrugged, looking wide-eyed around at the windows, where a thin stream on light was coming in.  
  
"Perhaps it was the light reacting to a vase, or glass mirror in the room," he murmured, going over to the window, despite the fact that the bottoms of his jeans were soaked, and examining the angle in which the light was shining in at.  
  
Seto sighed, looking over at Mokuba, who still looked rather stunned as Tea pushed her hair back and adjusted her green-gemmed necklace.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother, who nodded quickly.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, feeling a little embarrassed. "It was just a little light," he giggled, trying to make the atmosphere lighter.  
  
Seto nodded, still not looking quite convinced. Yugi, too, was looking skeptically at the spot where Mokuba had been standing.  
  
"I wonder what caused that to happen..." he murmured to himself as Taerro cried out.  
  
"Just a little light?!" he exclaimed, sounding offended. "This could be a major scientific discovery!"  
  
"COULD be," Duke emphasized, grinning.  
  
Bakura laughed nervously as the others continued upstairs to get dressed in dry clothes.  
  
**********  
  
Priest Seto, who had been up in the attic, looking around at some of the older, more worn antiques, suddenly whirled around, eyes narrowed. Some sort of energy force had just been released...a powerful force of energy. But then, he had ceased to sense it.  
  
"What was that?" he murmured, looking around to see if anything in the attic had caused that force of energy to be released.  
  
Upon looking around, he found nothing out of the ordinary, with the exception of the old television set, however. He had never quite understood how the people ended up in the box in the first place, but decided that was nothing important, as Mokuba even had one of them in his bedroom.  
  
"What could that have been...?" he murmured, feeling uneasy. "Perhaps the Pharaoh will know."  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, over in the strange, worn bakery, the black-haired woman was sitting as the meeting-table once again, her hands folded in front of her face as the men from before came into the room, looking rather discouraged, and one, angry.  
  
"Listen...um...?" A man began, unsure of the woman's name.  
  
"Zurui," she corrected automatically, in an icy voice. "Sit."  
  
"No thank you," The man replied, looking rather hurried. "I sent in a few of my men to retrieve those "items" you told us about," he explained.  
  
Zurui continued to stare icily at the man, looking rather irritated by his presence.  
  
"And...?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.  
  
The man sighed, feeling angrier by the minute.  
  
"AND we didn't find anything," he retorted. "We checked in the places YOU said the items would be, but they were gone."  
  
Zurui smirked, turning around and facing the wall behind her.  
  
"That old woman is as fickle as she is eccentric," she replied, smiling to herself. "She must have moved them..."  
  
Zurui closed her eyes and was silent for a moment, then she smiled and turned back to the man.  
  
"She has indeed moved them," she replied. "She has given them to three of her guests."  
  
The man raised an eyebrow, suspicious.  
  
"She has?" he asked skeptically. "And how do you know this?"  
  
Zurui narrowed her eyes.  
  
"I know," she replied coldly. "You'll be pleased to know that the three guests have no magical abilities to begin with."  
  
She pulled out the picture of Yugi and his friends and pointed out three of the people to the man.  
  
"They have the items," Zurui informed him. "And this is all the help you will get from me," she concluded, standing up. "I warn you, however," she added as she walked toward the door of the office. "The Millennium Items...and the spirits in that house have the power to overcome all of you. Be wise."  
  
With that, Zurui walked out of the office and shut the door behind her, leaving the man looking confused.  
  
**********  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes as he sauntered down the hallway, searching for Yami.  
  
"If anyone else in this mansion can sense things, it would definitely be the Pharaoh," he murmured, watching as Bakura walked by, looking soaked, but he smiled at the priest anyway.  
  
Priest Seto nodded back, realizing that even without the Millennium Ring, Bakura must still be able to see him. The case was different with Yami, since he was trapped in the Millennium Puzzle, only those who wielded Millennium Items could see him.  
  
"I must figure out what that power force was...and if it's connected to anything important..." Priest Seto murmured as Bakura walked away.  
  
**********  
  
After everyone had gotten dressed, they made their way back down to the living room, where Madam Christina and Bob were waiting, a sly smile on Madam Christina's face.  
  
Joey raised an eyebrow, beginning to get suspicious as he pulled his blue coat on over his shirt.  
  
"So what's up next?" he asked, wondering what she could have planned next.  
  
Amber walked into the room, eating a peanut butter cookie, Serenity behind her.  
  
"Are we going to do something else now?" she asked, looking around as the others came back into the room, one by one.  
  
Madam Christina nodded, smiling.  
  
"Yes, you'll see," she replied, Amber noticing an antique bowl on the table in front of her, filled with slips of paper with something written on them.  
  
"I wonder what those are for..." Amber murmured to herself, as Yugi, Tea, Seto, and Mokuba walked into the room, making the group complete once more.  
  
Duke squeezed his ponytail out one more time before tossing it back behind him and looking around at the others. Taerro hadn't changed his clothes at all, having been so absorbed in the light phenomenon, so his pants were still slightly damp. Everyone else looked neat and crisp.  
  
"Well now," Madam Christina announced, looking around. "Now that everyone is here, I can explain the rules of our next activity, which will begin at precisely 5:00 this evening, which is in one hour."  
  
Yugi looked eagerly over at Madam Christina. What could be the next activity?  
  
"In front of me is a bowl full of locations in this house," she explained. "There are two of every location, and each of the duelists will pick on slip, read the location, and not show it to anyone else. At 5:00, be at that location, and you will duel whoever is there to meet you."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow. Completely random pairings, then, it seemed, he thought to himself. I could end up dueling anyone from Yugi to novices like that Tea girl.  
  
Madam Christina smiled.  
  
"Will all the duelists come forward, please?" she asked, pushing the bowl toward them.  
  
Taerro, Yugi, Seto, Tea, Amber, Duke, Tristan, and Joey walked toward the table. Yugi turned around and raised an eyebrow at Bakura, who was hanging back with Mokuba and Serenity.  
  
"Aren't you going to play, Bakura?" Yugi asked, wondering why Bakura was so reluctant to play.  
  
Bakura scratched his cheek, embarrassed.  
  
"I would...but..." he started, looking down at his cast. "I can't really wear a duel disk AND hold my cards very well with this cast on."  
  
Yugi smiled.  
  
"Oh, okay," he replied, reaching into the bowl and pulling out a slip. "Maybe we can duel again some other time then."  
  
Bakura nodded with a smile.  
  
"What do we do while everyone is dueling?" Serenity asked, looking over at Madam Christina curiously as Joey picked his location.  
  
Madam Christina put a hand to her chin, thoughtfully.  
  
"That IS a good question," she murmured thinking. "Aha!" she exclaimed suddenly. "You three can help set up for our special Christmas party tonight in the dining room."  
  
Serenity's eyes shone with excitement.  
  
"Special Christmas Party?" she asked with a grin.  
  
Madam Christina nodded.  
  
"Indeed," she replied, winking before looking back at the others. "Does everyone have their location?"  
  
Everyone nodded, even Tristan, who looked slightly worried. In all honesty, he'd only decided to compete to make the number even...and to impress Serenity with his dueling skills. But A.) She wasn't even going to be watching and B.) What if he ended up having to play Yugi or Seto?  
  
"Yes," Seto replied, stuffing his slip of paper away in his coat pocket and looking around at the others.  
  
Duke and Amber looked determined, Joey looked confused as he read his location over again.  
  
"Who wants to duel in the basement?" he muttered to himself, under his breath, as he shoved in away in his jeans pocket. "But whatever. I'll beat whoever shows up to face me!"  
  
Mokuba grinned, looking over at his brother.  
  
"You're going to win, aren't you niisama?" he asked, looking confident in his brother.  
  
Seto smiled back down at Mokuba.  
  
"Yes, I am," he replied, determined not to lose...even if his opponent was Yugi.  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter Nine  
  
^_^ Review! -SK  
  
"Next chapter up soon! ^_~" -Red 


	10. Chapter 10: Invasion

Chapter Ten: Invasion  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing, but before the next chapter, a few quick notes. A.) Mark is the name of the man whom Zurui was talking with during the last chapter. And B.) Mokuba WILL have more a role in the excitement. ^-~  
  
"And here's Chapter Ten!"  
  
**********  
  
Chapter Ten: Invasion  
  
Mark walked down the hallway, looking determined. Zurui acted so confident and sure of herself, but he didn't trust her one bit. Well, he thought to himself with a bitter sigh. Correction. I WOULDN'T trust her if I had a choice; which I don't.  
  
"That crazy lady is our only inside information right now," he murmured out loud, remembering his conversation with her just minutes ago. "But now she says that the old hag has given these "magical" items to some of her guests? What kind of a nut would do that?"  
  
Shaking his head, he opened a door at the end of the hallway, revealing several men dressed in all-black sitting at another meeting table inside.  
  
"All right boys," he addressed them, cocking his head toward the door. "It's show-time. You know what we're after."  
  
The men nodded, and stood up.  
  
"And don't come back without those items," Mark finished sternly.  
  
***********  
  
Seto sat in his room, looking through his deck as he waited for the hour of preperation to end, so he could go meet his opponent in the sitting room, as the paper had instructed him.  
  
"Who could I be playing?" he murmured aloud, looking forward to a hard, enjoyable duel.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Priest Seto wandered down the stairs, looking for Yami somewhere in the midst of all the other people in the mansion. Taerro wandered by, looking down at a slip of paper in his hands, and Taerro was discussing something with Mr. Taylor, who had been shoveling snow in the front yard all morning.  
  
"Do you know anything on light phenomenon?" Taerro was asking eagerly, Mr. Taylor looking quite intruiged.  
  
  
  
"I'm afraid not the sort you're talking about, but I'll be happy to do some research on the subject," Mr. Taylor replied, looking skeptically over at the window. "This sound QUITE interesting..."  
  
Priest Seto sighed, very NOT interested, turning through the next doorway and into the kitchen, where Serenity was storing several batches of cookies in the freezer and, to the priest's relief, Yami was watching.  
  
  
  
"Pharaoh!" he called, floating over to him, Yami turning around, looking surprised.  
  
"Priest?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "What is it?"  
  
Priest Seto looked around, and made sure that Serenity couldn't see either of them before continuing.  
  
"Well, I sensed a very powerful force of energy a few minutes ago, and I was wondering if you had too, and if you knew anything about it," Priest Seto explained.  
  
Yami bit his lip, thinking back.  
  
"I did sense something a few minutes ago..." he murmured, trying to remember.  
  
He'd been rather preoccupied with watching how Serenity was baking the cookies that he hadn't given it much thought.  
  
"I can't really figure out what it could have been," he replied honestly. "Perhaps...one of Madam Christina's items has powers, just as the medallion that Yami Taerro stole did."  
  
Priest Seto nodded, pondering as Yugi walked into the kitchen and over to Yami, causing the Pharaoh to turn his attention to his reincarnate. Priest Seto sauntered away, thinking.  
  
"Hi Yami!" Yugi cried eagerly, his deck in his hands, Serenity looking over at his with wide eyes. "Guess what? Madam Christina is holding another tournament thing in about an hour, and I have to play whoever shows up in the attic then."  
  
Yami raised an eyebrow as Serenity quietly walked out the door, looking rather shocked.  
  
"Ah, I see," he replied. "So tell me, aibou, who is it that is going to show up in the attic?" he asked, looking intrigued.  
  
Yugi chuckled as he sniffed in the fresh scent of peanut butter cookies that hung in the kitchen air from all the baking Amber and Serenity had done earlier.  
  
"That's the thing, Yami," he replied with a giggle, showing Yami the piece of paper. "You don't know who's going to show up there. We all just drew these locations out of a bowl of slips."  
  
Yami grinned.  
  
"Ah...I understand now," he replied, looking around. "A random pairing. So we could be playing anyone."  
  
Yugi nodded with a smile.  
  
"Yep!"  
  
***********  
  
Amber and Duke were walking through one of Madam Christina's dimly-lit galleries, looking at the artifacts that were protected by large, glass cases. Amber sighed, the silence beginning to feel creepy.  
  
"So...these must be her really special items, don't you think?" she inquired, looking over at Duke, who was examining a small, green, gem.  
  
Duke nodded, backing away and putting his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Yep...I just hope we don't accidentally knock over one of them when we're dueling," he muttered, grinning embarrassedly after he had spoken. "Oops, oh well, I guess it doesn't matter," he replied with a shrug. "I'm playing in this gallery."  
  
Amber smiled and laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I guess it doesn't," she replied. "I'm not playing in the gallery, so we don't have to worry about playing each other."  
  
Duke smirked.  
  
"That's a relief," he replied, looking down at his deck. "I'd be much happier playing someone like Tristan, or even Taerro."  
  
Amber smiled, looking down at her own deck, where Red Archery Girl was the top card.  
  
"I don't really care who I play, although I'd prefer not to play Joey again," she chuckled. "I already played him in the Halloween Tournament at the Black Crown."  
  
Duke nodded.  
  
"Yep," he replied, looking down at his watch. "Well, I guess you'd better head off to wherever you're going to be dueling," he suggested, looking toward the exit of the gallery. "The matches are going to start in about ten minutes."  
  
Amber nodded, walking out the door.  
  
"Meet me in the upstairs sitting room when you're done, okay?" she smiled, waving as she hurried out the door.  
  
Duke nodded in reply.  
  
"Sure thing!" he called after her, activating his duel disk and slipping his deck in the holder. "Well, it's time to duel," he muttered to himself, looking around for some sign of his opponent.  
  
*********  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, down in the basement, Joey shivered, the only light in the room coming from a dimming ceiling-light overhead, which kept flickering ominously every few minutes. Joey rubbed his arms vigorously, feeling cold down in the chilly basement.  
  
  
  
"Man, I should have worn my jacket," he muttered, remembering how it had gotten all wet during the snowball fight. "Or at least a sweater or SOMETHING to keep warm down in this icebox."  
  
There was a small creak over in the corner of the room, causing him to jump, and back into an old lamp, which teetered on its stand. Joey caught it quickly and sighed, putting it back in place.  
  
"Maybe a little duel-action will warm me up," he decided, looking down at his watch. "That is," he added, feeling grouchy. "If my opponent ever decides to show up."  
  
**********  
  
Mokuba walked down the hallway near the basement, his necklace flapping up and down as he did so. Serenity had told him to go find the extra Christmas lights down in the hall closet, but he was so turned around in the large mansion, he wasn't even sure he was in the right hallway.  
  
"Why couldn't there be little maps at the front door of the place?" he murmured, looking right and left, debating which way he ought to go. "But then again," he sighed, choosing left and starting off down the hallway. "OUR house is even bigger than this, and we don't have little maps at the door."  
  
He chuckled, looking at a door that had cropped and up.  
  
"Maybe this is it," he murmured, pulling on the handle and opening the door, to reveal another gallery.  
  
He blinked amazed as he peered inside, flicking the light switch up so that the pale light illuminated the room.  
  
"Wow," he murmured, walking inside, forgetting about the Christmas lights for a moment. "This is great..."  
  
He looked around, admiring the statues, carvings, and other artifacts that were stored away in the glass cases, all resting on white podiums with velvet cushioning underneath them.  
  
"She could make a fortune just making people pay for a tour of this place," Mokuba murmured out loud, a strange creak issuing from across the room at the other entrance to the gallery.  
  
**********  
  
One of the men from the meeting-house was crouched behind a large statue of a man, which had probably at one point been whole, but was now missing an arm and the tail of his coat.  
  
  
  
The man's eyes searched Mokuba carefully as he turned around, examining all the displays quickly, trying to get an overview of what the general topic of the room was. The man's eyes suddenly fell on the red-jeweled necklace around his neck, hanging over his chest.  
  
"Bingo..." The man murmured, looking down at the picture in his hands.  
  
Hurriedly, he shoved the picture away in his coat pocket and crept toward Mokuba, silently. Mokuba sighed and turned toward the door he had entered the room in, preparing to leave.  
  
"Guess I've seen just about all there is to see here," he murmured to himself, walking toward the door. "I still have to find those Christmas lights for Serenity..."  
  
As he reached out to grasp the doorknob, however, a strong hand from behind him grabbed him, clamping his mouth shut tightly.  
  
"Wha...?!" Mokuba tried to cry, but his voice was damped as another strong hand wrapped around his arm.  
  
"You're coming with me, kid," The man chuckled, dragging Mokuba toward the other exit. "Don't give us any trouble, and we'll let you live."  
  
Terrified, Mokuba tried to resist against the strong man pulling him toward the other exit, and to somewhere he knew he definitely did NOT want to go.  
  
"Help me, niisama!" he screamed desperately to himself, unable to get his words out for anyone else to hear.  
  
***********  
  
Serenity sighed as she adjusted the centerpiece on the polished oak table that she and Bakura were setting for the special Christmas Tournament celebration that would be held that evening.  
  
"Isn't this exciting?" Serenity asked her white-haired friend as he lay the forks carefully over the napkins. "I mean, all the others are off dueling, including Joey! Oh, I hope he does well."  
  
Bakura smiled, setting the last fork down as Mr. Taylor came into the room with a few glasses in his hands.  
  
"I'm sure your brother will do great," he replied. "After all, he's had a lot of experience with dueling."  
  
Serenity nodded with a smile.  
  
"You're right, Bakura," she replied. "I know everyone will do great."  
  
Mr. Taylor nodded, leaning across Bakura to put a glass down in front of one of the places Bakura and Serenity had already set with plates and silverware.  
  
"I'm sure they will," he replied, wondering who Tristan had ended up playing.  
  
***********  
  
Amber walked briskly through the hallway near the upstairs sitting room, and finally found the room she'd been looking for. She looked around, hoping to see a familiar face, like Yugi or Tea, but instead, she didn't see anyone at all.  
  
"Hello?" she called, turning on a lamp that was sitting on an oak stand near the door. "Is anyone here yet?"  
  
"If you're looking for the sitting-room opponent, then yes," Came an icy voice from behind her, and Amber jumped, whirling around to come face to face with Seto.  
  
"Oh!" she cried, giggling slightly as she moved into the room, adjusting her duel disk. "Hey! I guess you're my opponent then."  
  
Seto nodded, walking across the room and activating his duel disk.  
  
"I guess so," he replied, his tone still serious as he picked five cards off the top of his deck.  
  
Amber activated her duel disk and drew her cards as well, watching Seto closely.  
  
"I don't know much about this guy, but he's beaten Duke and he was at one time the world champion!" she thought to herself, examining her hand. "He's got to be good, but no one's invincible..."  
  
"You can take the first move," Seto called to Amber, remembering her strategy from watching her duel with Joey back at Halloween. "She uses Lily the Injection Angel as her trump card, but her other cards are water-types. This should be an interesting match..."  
  
Amber grinned in a determined manner, picking her top card and adding it to her hand.  
  
"Okay!" she called, setting two cards on the field face down. "Two face down cards, and I summon Gagagigo in attack mode!"  
  
A strange fish-like creature appeared on the field, his attack points 1850.  
  
"I'll end my turn with that!" Amber declared, grinning, watching the CEO draw his card. "I started off with one of my new cards," she thought to herself as Seto examined his hand. "I wonder just how well it'll work with my deck, and against my opponent."  
  
Seto smirked, looking up at Amber.  
  
"Simple," he murmured to himself, picking up one card from his hand and placing it on the field, unaware of the other events that were taking place in the mansion at that very moment.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 10  
  
REVIEW! -SK  
  
"And next chapter, as always, will be up soon! ^_~" -Red 


	11. Chapter 11: Conflicts

Chapter Eleven: Conflicts  
  
  
  
Notes: ^_^! Thanks for reviewing, everyone! And yeah, Seto needs to win quickly and get to his brother! And...other than that...I guess that's it. Thanks to Alan for help with Tristan's deck. ^_~  
  
"And here's Chapter Eleven!"  
  
**********  
  
Chapter Eleven: Conflicts  
  
Yugi blinked, looking around in the slightly hazy attic for some sign of his opponent.  
  
"Hello?" he called, his voice seeming slightly dampened with the attic's low ceiling. "Is my opponent here?"  
  
Yami appeared beside him, in spiritual form.  
  
"I don't sense anyone up here..." he murmured, looking around. "Although..."  
  
He trailed off, sensing a strange presence. He raised a pale eyebrow, wondering who could be giving off such a strange spiritual force. Yugi narrowed his eyebrows, concerned, as he looked over at his partner.  
  
"Yami?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.  
  
Yami smiled down at his partner, trying to forget about the strange presence. After all, he thought to himself. It was probably something insignificant anyway. Perhaps I am merely sensing the priest or the White Dragon.  
  
  
  
"Yes?" Yami asked his aibou, looking down at him.  
  
Yugi bit his lip.  
  
  
  
"Is something wrong?" he asked, feeling uneasy.  
  
Yami only looked preoccupied when he was sensing danger, or an evil presence. Could something or someone who shouldn't be lurking in Madam Christina's mansion?  
  
Yami shook his head instantly, wishing that Yugi hadn't noticed his slight preoccupied look.  
  
  
  
"No, not at all..." he replied, when a familiar squeak was heard, and Yami's brown and furry Ka appeared beside him.  
  
"Kuri!" Kuribo cried, nuzzling up against Yami's cheek, as it always did. "Kuri! Kuri!"  
  
Yami sighed, shoving the Kuribo away gently.  
  
"We're not in danger or anything, Kuirbo," he reminded the critter, as it bounced merrily around the attic, almost knocking a large trunk to the ground. "Uh...you can go back to my soul room now..."  
  
Yugi's eyes bulged as another trunk almost fell over. He walked quickly toward the Kuribo, looking worried, not so much for the Kuribo's safety, but for Madam Christina's items!  
  
"Hey! Why don't you go back to Yami's soul room now?" Yugi asked with a friendly smile, reaching out to grab the Kuribo as Yami floated over to aid his partner.  
  
  
  
Kuribo, however, bounced off Yugi's hand and continued to fly around the attic, clearly enjoying itself. Yugi sighed, looking frustrated.  
  
"What now, Yami?" he asked, looking up at his partner wearily.  
  
Yami grinned, looking rather embarrassed, for both his Ka and himself.  
  
"Well, catch it I guess," he replied with a shrug, Kuribo bouncing around merrily.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Duke sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly as he waited for his opponent to show up. Looking around, he caught a glimpse of the door to the gallery closes and Tristan walking toward him, deck in hand and duel disk on his arm.  
  
Duke grinned, flashing a smile at Tristan as he approached, looking slightly nervous.  
  
"Hey, Tristan," he called, waving as he walked toward his friend. "Guess it's you and me, huh?"  
  
Tristan nodded, inwardly feeling relieved he hadn't ended up against Seto or Yugi. Or even Joey or Amber for that matter. Maybe, he though to himself as he shoved his deck into his duel disk. Maybe I'll be able to pull this one off.  
  
"All set?" Duke asked, raising his duel disk.  
  
Tristan nodded with a grin.  
  
"You bet," he replied, picking five cards from the top of his deck. "Let's duel!"  
  
**********  
  
Seto grinned, looking at Amber's field. Her Gagagigo was in attack mode, and she'd placed two other cards face down on the field. Seto smiled, setting a card on his duel disk.  
  
"Mystical Space Typhoon!" he declared, a large cyclone-type funnel swirling towards one of Amber's set cards, destroying it.  
  
Amber's face fell as he card was sent to the graveyard.  
  
"Darn! My Mirror Wall," she muttered, taking the card off the field on her duel disk. "Nice move."  
  
Seto smiled, putting down another card.  
  
  
  
"Now I summon Archfiend Soldier in attack mode!" he declared, a shadowy-looking monster with a dark cape appearing on the field in attack position, its stats 1900/1500.  
  
Amber bit her lip, looking at her Gagagigo, with only 1850 attack points. He'd lose in a head-on battle, and her other set card wasn't going to be of any use during this turn.  
  
"Archfiend Soldier! Attack her monster!" Seto declared, the fiend monster lunging forward and striking down Gagagigo.  
  
"Gr..." Amber muttered in anger, her life points falling to 3950.  
  
It wasn't so much the life points that got to her, she admitted to herself. It was the fact that one of her toughest non-tribute requiring monsters had been defeated so easily.  
  
"Guess that goes to show why he was world champ," she murmured, picking her next card. "I set one card in defense mode and end my turn," she declared, looking confident still. "Your move!"  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, picking his card.  
  
"To set a monster must mean it has an effect of some sort...so I should be careful," he murmured, placing another card on the field. "I summon Spear Dragon, in attack mode!" he declared, a long-beaked dragon appearing on the field, its attack and defense 1900/0.  
  
Amber held her ground, not looking phased by the move at all.  
  
"And...?" she asked, smirking.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, thinking hard to himself. He was so focused on the duel that he didn't notice Priest Seto float through the doorway and into the room, stopping short at the sight of the holographic duel monsters in the room.  
  
"A duel..." he murmured, looking from Seto to Amber. "Between my reincarnate and that girl..." he added, studying Amber closely, recalling someone quite similar from the past.  
  
"This should be very interesting..." Priest Seto murmured to himself, temporarily forgetting about the strange force he had sensed earlier.  
  
"And I have Spear Dragon attack!" Seto declared, thrusting his fist forward. "Attack, Spear Dragon!"  
  
The Spear Dragon opened its mouth and let out a forceful wind attack, which sliced through Amber's defense card, a Witch of the Black Forest which cried out as it was destroyed.  
  
Amber's life points fell to a further 3250, causing her to grit her teeth as she put her witch in the graveyard.  
  
"Spear Dragon's special ability is to inflict battle damage equal to the difference in the defense points of the defending monster and his attack points," Seto stated, turning his dragon into defense mode. "The drawback is that it has to go into defense mode after it attacks."  
  
Amber nodded briskly, picking up her deck and sorting through it.  
  
"And my Witch of the Black Forest has a special effect too," she said, looking through her deck for the card she'd been waiting for. "I can take a monster with 1500 or less defense points and add it to my hand."  
  
Seto nodded this time, already quite familiar with the witch's effect, having one in his deck as well. A moment later, Amber shuffled her deck quickly and put it back in place.  
  
"Now," Seto declared, looking at his Archfiend Soldier. "I set one card face down, and then I attack you with my Archfiend!"  
  
The soldier lunged forward and slashed at Amber's wide-open life points, causing her to flinch as they dropped to 1350. Amber bit her lip as she drew her card, closing her eyes.  
  
"I'm done for if I don't get the right card..." she murmured, opening one eye slowly as she brought the card up to her face.  
  
Her face split into a grin as she saw the magic card she'd been hoping to get.  
  
"All right!" she declared happily, putting it on the field. "I activate Poison of the Old Man, and my life points go up by 1200."  
  
She smirked as her life points rose again, back up to 2550. Seto didn't look phased by the move. Amber, however, looked delighted, as she looked at a glittery card in her hand and picked it up.  
  
**********  
  
Taerro walked down the hallway, searching for the basement.  
  
"I suppose to get to the basement, you only really just have to go down..." he murmured to himself, looking around at the walls, as if there would be signs telling him where to go, like in museums. "But this place is so...wide it's hard to tell which way I'm really going."  
  
As he walked down the hallway, his shoes squeaking on the hrd floors of the downstairs, he raised an eyebrow, feeling unsure. A small rustle was hear behind him, and nervously, he whirled around, the blue gem in his pendant glinting in the light of the halls.  
  
Biting his lip, he looked right, and left, but didn't notice anyone following him. Gulping, he turned around again. Again, he heard a strange noise behind him, so he turned around once more.  
  
"Who's following me?" he demanded, feeling uneasy.  
  
"No one, but I've been waiting for you for like, half an hour!" Came Joey's voice from behind him, and Taerro turned around to see Joey standing in the doorway of what must be the basement.  
  
Taerro grinned, rather sheepishly and walked toward the doorway and his friend.  
  
"Sorry Joey," he apologized, taking his deck out of his pocket. "It's awful confusing down here, and..."  
  
He paused, trailing off, Joey raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked, walking into the basement room again, Taerro following him, shivering at the cold.  
  
"Well, I kept feeling like someone was following me," Taerro admitted sheepishly, feeling awkward. "I know it's silly, but I kept hearing strange rustling noises behind me."  
  
Joey laughed, activating his duel disk.  
  
"Don't be silly, Taerro," he replied, picking five cards from his deck, not noticing a dark figure come up behind him. "There's no one in the house but us. Well, us and Madam Christina and her employees I guess..."  
  
Taerro looked up from his own duel disk and gasped as the man picked up a large book from the floor of the basement and held it up over Joey's head.  
  
"Joey! Look out!" Taerro cried, but it was too late.  
  
"Wha...?!" Joey cried, trying to turn around but ending up getting clonked on the head with the heavy book. "Ow..." he moaned, falling to the floor, his cards spilling out of his duel disk beside him.  
  
Taerro's gulped, his mouth dropping as he backed away from the man who had just hit Joey, as he tossed the book away and stepped over his friend's limp body.  
  
"Who are you? And what do you want?" Taerro demanded shakily, feeling his heart thudding in his chest.  
  
As he continued to back away, he felt himself bump into something warm behind him, and he gasped, jumping backwards as he realized he'd ran right into another man, wearing all black, just like the first.  
  
"Help!" he screamed as the man smirked and reached out at him, Taerro wincing, shutting his eyes, sure he was going to try to knock him out.  
  
Instead, however, he felt a small snap near his ear, and he opened his eyes to see that the man had merely pulled off his necklace, and stuffed it into his pocket.  
  
Nervously, Taerro backed away, but the man behind him had picked up his book again, and brought it down on Taerro's head as well.  
  
"Don't think you're going to get anywhere anytime soon," The first man snickered as Taerro fell over as well, sprawled on the floor unconscious. "You got what we came for?" he barked at his associate, who nodded seriously.  
  
"Yep," he muttered, looking down at the stone pendant with the blue gem pressed in the center. "Junk if you ask me, but whatever. There're two more of these we have to get?"  
  
The first man nodded, turning around.  
  
"Yeah...but I doubt they're gonna do anything more than take up space," he muttered, heading toward the door. "Come on. Let's go."  
  
The second nodded, kicking Taerro's arm out of the way as he headed after his partner.  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Bakura bit his lip, looking around as Serenity finished playing Jingle Bells on the piano.  
  
"Hasn't it been an awful long time since Mokuba left to go get those extra Christmas lights?" he asked, looking around at the others.  
  
Mr. Taylor was sitting down in the living room that was connected to the dining room, reading a rather large book he'd found on one of Madam Christina's shelves. Madam Christina was coming back from the kitchen, where she'd been checking up on the cook's performance.  
  
"You mean that little boy's still not back yet?" she exclaimed, looking surprised. "I knew someone should have gone with him."  
  
Bakura looked around, seeing that there was nothing left for him to do there.  
  
"Well, I'll go find him," he suggested, standing up. "I bet he just got lost downstairs or something."  
  
Mr. Taylor chuckled, not taking his eyes off the book as Bakura walked toward the stairs leading down to the basement level.  
  
"Good idea, Bakura," he commented, as Serenity began to play another song.  
  
  
  
"Don't you get lost now!" Serenity called after the white-haired boy, as he stepped carefully down the stairs.  
  
Bakura blushed.  
  
"I'll try not to!" he called back, still rather embarrassed, recalling the bathroom incident the night before, although no one but Taerro knew about that anyway.  
  
"Let's just hope that I really DON'T get lost," he murmured to himself, biting his lip nervously.  
  
***********  
  
Tristan smiled as he looked at his opening hand, feeling a bit more confident than he had initially. Okay, maybe this won't be so bad after all, he thought to himself as he picked a sixth card to start his turn.  
  
"I'll go first!" he declared, looking at his cards. "And I start with a monster in defense mode and one card face down."  
  
Duke raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Defense?" he wondered to himself, knowing Tristan always started with an attacking monster in previously duels. "Oh well, maybe he finally learned after all those loses..."  
  
"That'll do it," Tristan ended, smirking over at Duke. "Take your turn, that is, if you've got the guts."  
  
"Ha," Duke laughed, picking his card. "I think it's you who need the guts, Tristan," he retorted. "Oni-Tank T-34 in attack mode," he declared, a large tank with a demon face appearing in attack mode on his side of the field, its stats 1400/1700.  
  
Tristan bit his lip.  
  
"Yeah?" he called, egging Duke on. "And what's the machine got?"  
  
Duke smirked.  
  
"More than your defense monster, I bet," he said boldly, pointing at Tristan's face down. "Go! Attack his defense card, Oni-Tank!"  
  
Tristan grinned.  
  
"Big mistake, Duke," he thought to himself as the Oni-Tank lunged forward at the defense card."  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter 11  
  
^_^ REVIEW!  
  
"And next chapter up soon!" ^_~ 


	12. Chapter 12: Trouble in the Mansion

Chapter Twelve: Trouble at the Mansion  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for the reviews, everyone! And minor note, I KNOW in the real card game you can't play magic cards on your opponent's turn unless they're quickplay, but in the show, if you've set them, it appears you can activate them on your opponent's turn. (Example: Seto vs. Ishizu and the Soul Exchange card.)  
  
":P And here's chapter twelve!" ^_~  
  
*********  
  
Chapter Twelve: Trouble at the Mansion  
  
"Big mistake, Duke," Tristan called, flipping over his face-down card. "Reveal face down card! Giant Soldier of Stone!"  
  
Duke's eyes widened as his Oni-Tank lunged right into the massive stone body of the giant soldier, and bounced right back off, not making so much as a dent in the creature.  
  
Tristan smirked as Duke's life points fell to 3400, Duke clenching his fists.  
  
"Darn..." he muttered, setting a trap card face down. "I play one trap card face down, and end my turn."  
  
"Guess Tristan HAS learned a little after all," Duke thought to himself as he watched Tristan pick another card and grin. "He's not just running into things like he used to. Oh well, that's just fine," he added with a grin.  
  
"I offer my Giant Soldier of Stone as a sacrifice to summon the Swamp Battleguard!" Tristan declared, his defense monster disappearing and a large, green monster appeared, holding a spiked-club in its hands, its attack and defense points 1800/1500.  
  
Duke gritted his teeth.  
  
"Darn," he murmured to himself, looking at his face down card. "I'll have to rely on this to get me through this turn."  
  
***********  
  
Amber narrowed her eyes as she picked up a sparkling card in her hand and put it down on her duel disk.  
  
"Okay, Kaiba," she called boldly. "I summon Lily, the Injection Angel!" she cried, the little pink-haired girl with wings, riding on a large green syringe appearing in front of her, winking.  
  
"Aa!" Lily cried in her sweet voice, smiling.  
  
Seto clenched his fist as he looked at his monsters on the field. Although Archfiend Soldier and Spear Dragon both had 1900 attack points, while Lily only had 400, if Amber activated the special ability of Lily, they wouldn't stand a chance.  
  
Amber looked at Lily on her field and nodded.  
  
"Okay," Amber called, pointing her finger at the Archfiend Soldier. "I order Lily the Injection Angel to attack Archfiend Soldier, and I activate her special ability while I'm at it!"  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow as Lily's syringe sudden grew two times its normal size, making it heavier for the fairy monster to hold, and as the syringe grew, her attack points raised all the way up to 3400.  
  
"She raised the attack power 3000 points in exchange for 2000 of her own life points," Priest Seto observed, watching Amber's life points fall to 550. "Quite an interesting move..."  
  
He narrowed his eyes, turning around again suddenly, the evil force now pulsing even harder and nearer than before...but what could it be?  
  
"Gr," Seto muttered, wincing as the injection angel swooped down and injected Archfiend Soldier, destroying him and reducing Seto's life points to 2500.  
  
"Then, I set one card facedown and I activate Gravity Bind, before my turn ends," Amber continued, flipping up her other face down card. "Now no matter what monster you choose to attack me with, only those of level three and lower can complete that attack."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, drawing his next card. His eyes lit up as he noticed what it was. Smirking, he played it down on the field.  
  
"I summon level three Possessed Dark Soul!" Seto declared, a fiery monster appearing on his field, his attack 1200/800.  
  
"Not so fast," Amber smirked, flipping up her face down card. "Paralyzing Potion, and I put it on your Dark Soul!"  
  
Seto scowled as he Possessed Dark Soul was drenched in a green potion, and fell to its knees.  
  
"A monster equipped with this card can't attack," Amber explained. "Making all of your monsters incapable of attacking me this turn."  
  
Seto smirked, looking over at Amber with his confident smile. Amber narrowed her eyes and stepped back a little, confused.  
  
"What's so funny?" she demanded, beginning to get irked by his confident attitude.  
  
"What's so funny is that you're forgetting the special ability of Possessed Dark Soul," Seto informed her, his Dark Soul disappearing from the field.  
  
Amber blinked, her Paralyzing Potion card being destroyed in the process.  
  
"It...destroyed itself," she muttered, blinking in confusion. "What kind of an effect is that...? Oh!"  
  
Lily the Injection Angel suddenly disappeared from Amber's side of the field, and reappeared in a puff of pink smoke on Seto's side of the field instead!  
  
"N...no way!" Amber cried in disbelief. "How'd you get my Lily?"  
  
Seto smiled, looking down at his Possessed Dark Soul card as he moved it to the graveyard.  
  
"The special ability of Possessed Dark Soul is that if I sacrifice it and send it to the graveyard, I can take control of all level three monsters on my opponent's side of the field," he explained with a grin, Amber's eyes widening in shock. "That includes your Lily."  
  
Amber bit her lip, looking down at her field. She had no cards in play anymore, with the exception of Gravity Bind.  
  
"But that won't stop Lily's attack because she's a level three monster," Amber sighed, her shoulders sagging as she smiled sadly. "And if Kaiba uses her special ability, which no doubt he will, I'll be wiped out."  
  
"Hey Kaiba!" she called over to Seto, who still looked pleased with his move.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I surrender," Amber replied, putting her hand over her deck. "Good duel."  
  
The holograms disappeared as Amber walked over to Seto, who returned her Lily the Injection Angel card.  
  
"Thanks," Amber murmured, putting the card back in her deck and extending her hand. "Cool move that last turn."  
  
Seto didn't reply, but shook her hand anyway. It felt nice to have defeated a new opponent, but something, although he couldn't explain what, didn't feel quite right.  
  
  
  
Seto looked over to the doorway, where he saw Priest Seto, looking around with his eyes narrowed, looking concerned about something. Seto raised an eyebrow, curious.  
  
"What's wrong?" he called over to him, Amber narrowing her eyes and backing away.  
  
"Who're you talking to?" Amber asked, tilting her head to the side as Priest Seto went over to Seto, still looking concerned.  
  
"I sense something is amiss..." The priest murmured, closing his eyes.  
  
  
  
Amber looked at Seto and followed his gaze, but saw no one. Raising an eyebrow, she realized his must be talking to a spirit of some sort.  
  
"Where's Mokuba?" Seto suddenly asked, turning to Amber, who looked startled by his sudden question.  
  
"Oh! He's...downstairs helping set up for the big Christmas party, I think," she replied, looking toward the door. "Yeah, that's what he, Bakura, and Serenity were going to do, right?"  
  
Priest Seto slowly shook his head, his eyes narrowed in concentration.  
  
"No...he is not downstairs..." he murmured. "I can't sense his spirit anywhere down there..."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow and approached the priest.  
  
"What do you mean he's not downstairs?" Seto demanded, beginning to feel uneasy inside.  
  
  
  
Amber gulped, glad Seto wasn't talking to her like that. The cold glare in his blue eyes was enough to make her feel on edge while talking to him.  
  
"In fact..." Priest Seto continued, turning around, deaf to Seto's comments. "He's not in the house at all."  
  
Seto's eyes widened as he gripped the handle of the metal briefcase he always toted around with him.  
  
"What?!" he cried, looking around. "Not in the house?! Then where is he?"  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes, a blue glow emitting from around him and the White Dragon emerging, causing Amber's eyes to grow even bigger.  
  
"Whoa..." she muttered, blinking at the huge white beast. "What's going ON, Kaiba?" she yelled over to him, but he was already running toward the door, on the search for his brother.  
  
Priest Seto looked down at Amber for a minute, then turned to his dragon.  
  
"All right," he declared. "You and I will search the upstairs of this mansion," he explained, watching Seto run downstairs. "I can't sense upwards as well as I can down, so I could have made an error."  
  
The White Dragon roared and flew through the walls, into the next room as Priest Seto took off in the opposite direction.  
  
"Let's hope that's the case," he muttered, feeling unsure. "But I have a feeling this has something to do with the presence I was sensing earlier..."  
  
Amber blinked, temporarily stunned by everything that had just happened. Then, she turned and ran out of the sitting room, determined to find the others and get some answers.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi and Yami were still in the attic, darting back and forth, trying to catch the elusive Kuribo as it bounced around the trunks and manikins in the attic.  
  
  
  
"Come on, Kuribo!" Yugi sighed, pausing and panting. "This is no time for games! We've a duel to get to in a little bit."  
  
Yami suddenly stopped in his tracks, blinking as he sensed the White Dragon clearly being summoned into the normal realm. Slowly, he turned toward the attic door, looking confused.  
  
  
  
Yugi noticed this, and looked up at his aibou.  
  
"Yami, what's wrong?" he asked, swallowing.  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes, confused.  
  
  
  
"Yugi...shouldn't our opponent have showed up by now?" he asked simply and darkly.  
  
Yugi bit his lip. It HAD been an awful long time since they'd been up in the attic. Although perhaps the Kuribo chase had only made it seem long, Yugi admitted, watching the Kuribo dive into a trunk full of costumes.  
  
"Yeah..." he muttered, looking over at Yami. "But what do you mean?"  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes, in the process subconsciously recalling Kuribo to his soul.  
  
"I believe that there is a dark force present," he explained, going toward the attic door. "Aibou! We must investigate."  
  
Yugi nodded determinedly, running after his spiritual friend.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Tea shivered as she walked through a dark hallway and up a long set of stairs. She'd been unsure of the way up to the attic, and had ended up taking a back way up. The only problem with that was the lack of proper lighting, which made it hard to see where to go.  
  
"I just...hope..." she murmured nervously, her eyes shining with fear as she walked up another rickety stair. "That this staircase...has all of its stairs in tact. Or else...I don't think I'll be able to see if there isn't one."  
  
She shivered nervously at the thought as a cold gust of wind blew down the steps, causing her to pause, her eyes widening.  
  
"Where's that gust coming from?" she murmured, taking a step backwards, noticing a shadow lurking around on the wall up at the top of the steep staircase, a ray of light shining down on her.  
  
"Now I'm not so sure I want to go up ther...ah!" Tea cried out as she slipped on the stair behind her.  
  
Quickly, she whirled around to stop herself but it was too late as she fell forward, down several stairs and back down to the small landing in between staircases. She sat up slowly, rubbing her arms, which both felt like she'd bruised them several times, as she held back tears. Her chest ached where she'd landed on her pendant and it had pushed into her skin.  
  
"Stupid...stairs..." she muttered, trying to stand up when she heard a click-clack on the stairs beneath her.  
  
"Yugi?" she called, hoping it would be he, or someone else so that they could help her out. "Guys?"  
  
Suddenly, however a strange laugh filled the air and Tea shrank back, still trying to get to her feet. Lip shaking, she tried to remain bold, like always.  
  
"Joey? If this is some kind of joke, stop it!" she yelled defiantly. "These stairs are dangerous; I just fell down about a flight..."  
  
The laugh continued and a man wearing dark clothes came into sight, grinning madly as Tea let out a cry, backing up against the wall.  
  
"Is that so?" he asked, reaching out for her. "Well then, you've ran into just the right person..."  
  
"Yu...yu...YUGI!" Tea screamed before a hand clamped over her mouth and all went dark.  
  
**********  
  
Seto ran down the stairs, looking right and left anxiously, hoping the priest had been wrong, and he'd see his younger brother's smiling face, waiting to meet him, to no avail.  
  
He hurried past the living room, where Serenity was still playing Christmas Carols and Mr. Taylor was still reading his book. Madam Christina raised an eyebrow as she heard the front door open and slam shut again, the windows rattling.  
  
"Did someone just go outside?" she asked quizzically, looking confused.  
  
Serenity turned around and shrugged.  
  
"I didn't see anyone..." she started, looking out the window and catching a glimpse of Seto's white trenchcoat. "But...it looks like Mr. Kaiba's outside now!"  
  
Mr. Taylor didn't seem interested.  
  
"Did he remember to put his coat on?" he mused with mild interest, turning the page.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Bakura swallowed hard as he walked down the stairs and into the dark hallway where Mokuba, Taerro, and Joey had gone down earlier. Slowly, he walked down the hallway, feeling uneasy in the silence.  
  
"Hello? Mokuba?" he called, looking into the storage closet as he passed by, since the door was hanging open. "Are you down here? It's me; Bakura!"  
  
He walked down to the end of the hallway, where a single door was on the wall panel. Nervously, he pulled the handle to let a large gust of cold air blow up at him, and revealed a dark stairway.  
  
Squinting down, he swallowed.  
  
"How far down deep down this house go?" he murmured, looking around to see if anyone was around, bumping his cast on an antique desk beside the door. "Well, maybe Mokuba's down there..."  
  
Slowly, he started down the stone steps and into the cold darkness below.  
  
**********  
  
  
  
End of Chapter 12  
  
REVIEW!!  
  
"^-^ Thanks. Next chapter up really soon!" 


	13. Chapter 13: The Pendants

Chapter Thirteen: The Pendants  
  
Notes: ^_~ As always, thanks for reviewing everyone.  
  
"And as always, here's the next chapter. ^_~"  
  
*********  
  
Chapter Thirteen: The Pendants  
  
"Okay, Duke!" Tristan declared, back in the gallery, getting ready to make his neck play. "I order my Swamp Battleguard to attack your Oni-Tank, destroying him! Go, Swamp Battleguard!"  
  
Duke narrowed his eyes, flipping over his facedown card.  
  
"I don't think so, Tristan," he replied confidently, his trap card revealing itself. "Reveal Waboku! Negating your attack on my monster and reducing any damage to me to zero."  
  
Tristan gritted his teeth, looking at his hand for a minute. Suddenly a purple monster caught his eye.  
  
"Wait a second..." he murmured, intrigued, looking at a Polymerazation card in his hand as well. "I'm not finished yet!" Tristan declared, playing the Polymerazation card on the field. "I use this one to fuse Swamp Battleguard with the Lava Battleguard in my hand, creating..."  
  
Duke scowled, watching anxiously as the two warriors fused themselves together.  
  
"Castle Battleguard!" Tristan declared, a new monster appearing on the field. "And this guy gains 500 extra attack points from each "battleguard" monster on my side of the field, or in my graveyard."  
  
Duke bit his lip.  
  
  
  
"That means he'll go up 1000 points because of the two battleguards you just sent to the graveyard as a result of the fusion," Duke muttered, looking highly displeased. "Great..." he murmured as the attack went up to 3500.  
  
Tristan smirked.  
  
"That's right, Duke," he retorted smugly. "So next turn, your Oni-Tank is history, along with your life points!"  
  
  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Priest Seto was floating through the upper rooms of the mansion, searching for some sign of Seto's younger brother. The White Dragon was combing the attic while he was searching through a back stairway leading up to the top floor.  
  
"I don't understand what could have happened to him," The priest murmured, the blue glow that emitted from his body lighting his way up the stairs. "It must have SOMETHING to do with that evil presence I sensed earlier..."  
  
The White Dragon floated through the walls and back to its master, looking forlorn. Priest Seto sighed and patted the top of its head gently before returning it to his soul room.  
  
"Thanks for helping out..." he murmured, turning to look downstairs again. "Although, I am beginning to strongly suspect that Mokuba might have been abducted."  
  
***********  
  
Seto, meanwhile, was outside, trudging through the snow as quickly as he could, looking around for some sign of his younger brother.  
  
"MOKUBA?!" he called, a chilly wind blowing by and rustling his bangs as he narrowed his eyes, both in anger and in concern.  
  
Someone had taken his brother, he was sure of it. Mokuba would never run off like that without telling anyone. But the question was...who had done it? And why? Sighing, he continued on toward the road, where a fresh set of tire tracks led away from Madam Christina's mansion and east.  
  
Raising an eyebrow, he continued forward, following the tracks. These tracks might lead me to Mokuba...and whoever took him, Seto thought to himself, hoping the tracks would lead him to his brother.  
  
***********  
  
Mokuba opened an eye slowly, feeling groggy. His head hurt, like he'd hit it against a wall, and he was lying on a very cold stone floor. Groaning, he sat up and realized he was in a strange room with no windows, and old carts with shelves on them, like to hold bread at a supermarket, were strewn around the room.  
  
"Where am I...?" he thought to himself, feeling panicky.  
  
Spotting the door, Mokuba got to his feet and hurried over, pulling on it, to no avail. It was locked. His heart pounding, he turned around and looked at his surroundings once more. No windows, no other doors. No way out!  
  
Feeling something missing, he reached up to his neck and felt that both the pendant Madam Christina had given him and his card-shaped locket were missing. Frightened, he wondered what had happened to him as he recalled a struggle with a man in the gallery...and then everything had gone dark.  
  
"Wh...where did they take me?" he murmured to himself, his eyes fearful as he turned back to the door, where he heard shuffling and men's voices outside. "Niisama...please rescue me..."  
  
***********  
  
Yugi blinked as he walked down the main stairs, looking around for some sign of whoever his opponent was supposed to be, and anything suspicious. As he came down to the middle of the staircase, Yami appeared beside him, looking serious.  
  
"Yugi..." he murmured, feeling uneasy. "I think we should find the others as soon as possible. Some of them may be in great danger."  
  
The priest mentioned something about that great force of energy earlier...Yami thought to himself. We both sensed it, so it was definitely real. But the question now is, what did it mean?!  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"I know, Yami," he replied, continuing down the stairs, hoping nothing bad had happened to his friends.  
  
**********  
  
As Bakura gulped, he continued his way down the cement stairs, the only light to guide his way from the open door he'd left upstairs for that very purpose.  
  
"Mokuba?" he called, hearing a rustling upstairs as he paused, wondering if his friend was upstairs.  
  
He heard a strange scraping sound and he turned around to see the desk that had been by the door when he'd come downstairs being shoved through the doorway, and right at him!  
  
"Stop it!" Bakura cried, backing up, knowing he'd never be able to stop the desk from tumbling down the stairs now.  
  
Just as he started to run down the stairs, hoping for an exit, he heard the scrape of wood against stone, and heard a horrible crashing sound as the desk toppled down the stairs after him.  
  
Heart pounding he jumped down the last two steps and found himself at a narrow landing. Looking frantically around him, he found to his utter confusion and dismay that all three sides were just ordinary stone walls, with no doors or windows at all.  
  
Breathing hard, he turned around just in time to see the desk approaching, and he crouched down in fear, unsure of what to do. A minute later, a horrible crash of wood against the wall rang out from down the stairs, and a gloved hand slowly closed the door upstairs.  
  
***********  
  
"Ow..." Taerro muttered, awaking to a strange crashing sound, his eyes opening to find himself sprawled on the floor of the basement, a large book in front of his face.  
  
Putting a hand to his head, he sat up, looking around, confused. He rubbed a bit of dust off his glasses as he focused and saw that Joey was also lying on the ground, a few feet in front of him.  
  
"Joey!" Taerro gasped, hurrying over to his friend and shaking him. "Are you okay? Wake up!"  
  
Joey groaned, opening his eyes and sitting up, rubbing his head.  
  
"Oh boy...that was some nightmare..." he muttered, not noticing Taerro. "I dreamt that I was supposed to duel Taerro, and then someone clonked me on the head before I could get started."  
  
Taerro sighed with relief, glad Joey was okay, then his face grew serious again.  
  
"That was no dream, Joey," he corrected his friend impatiently. "That really happened! Then those thugs snatched my pendant and knocked me out too!"  
  
Joey raised an eyebrow, looking up at Taerro.  
  
"Taerro?" he asked, looking confused. "Why the heck would they take that weird pendant of yours? I don't think that old bird would give us anything valuable..."  
  
Taerro put his hand to his chin, contemplating.  
  
"Yes, and that was definitely not a big enough piece of precious stone for it to be worth much..." he murmured, closing his eyes. "It all doesn't make sense."  
  
Joey looked around and noticed his cards strewn on the floor beside him, and in irritation began to collect them and put them back in his duel disk. Taerro stood up, brushing off his jeans, feeling his head throb where he'd been hit by the book.  
  
"I think we ought to find the others before we think about continuing our duel," he suggested to Joey, who nodded as he stood up. "Besides, I don't really feel up to it anymore."  
  
Joey growled, clenching a fist.  
  
"I'm not gonna duel until I find out who did this to us, and get some revenge," he said boldly as the two walked toward the door of the basement.  
  
Taerro sighed, looking at his friend solemnly.  
  
"Joey, I think we ought to let Madam Christina and the others know what happened BEFORE we jump into anything," he told his friend sternly as they walked out into the hallway.  
  
Joey sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets in irritation, wishing Taerro didn't always have to be such a realist.  
  
***********  
  
"My move!" Duke declared, picking his card and staring at it for a moment before sighing and placing it on the field, in facedown defense mode. "I play a monster in defense mode, and switch Oni-Tank T-34 into defense mode as well," he declared. "Your turn."  
  
Tristan grinned, pleased with his early success in putting Duke on the defensive as he picked his card.  
  
"Well what do you know?" he asked with a smirk, flipping over the magic card in his hand so that Duke could see it. "A Stop-Defense card."  
  
"Gr!" Duke growled, gritting his teeth as Tristan played it, and Oni-Tank switched back into attack mode once more.  
  
Tristan smiled, looking at his Castle Battleguard.  
  
"Okay, I'll set one monster in defense mode before I attack your Oni-Tank!" he called, the Castle Battleguard smashing through the machine monster, reducing Duke's life points to 1200.  
  
  
  
Duke backed up, feeling irritated. Tristan, of all duelists, was beating him! He had to make a comeback...somehow...and fast!  
  
**********  
  
Tea blinked, awakening to the muffled sounds of men talking around her, causing her to open an eye. She was tied to a chair in the back of what appeared to be some sort of meeting room, where the man who had kidnapped her, along with a few others, were looking at something that was placed on the table.  
  
Straining her neck, she managed to get a glimpse of her pendant lying on the table beside Taerro's and Mokuba's pendants. Tea gasped, wondering if the two boys had been kidnapped as well.  
  
  
  
"So what now?" One man grumbled, drumming his fingers on the table. "These necklaces aren't going to fetch much when we try to sell 'em."  
  
Mark, however, was fiddling around with the three necklaces, clanking them together oddly. Another man raised an eyebrow as Mark murmured something to himself.  
  
"What're you trying to do, Mark?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"That woman...she said that the three pendants alone had no powers...but together, their powers were unlimited," he murmured, piecing them together. "They're three thirds that fit together into a circle..."  
  
Tea bit her lip, not liking the sounds of what they were saying, or doing, for that matter. Suddenly, her eyes widened, remembering when Mokuba had walked past them on the staircase a few house earlier.  
  
"We all that it was light from the window, but I bet it was the light from my, his, and Taerro's pendants reacting to each other!" she thought in horror. "And they weren't even stuck together yet! What's going to happen when THEY put them together?!"  
  
One of the men laughed, however, looking highly amused.  
  
"You actually believe that woman's fairytale?" he laughed, slapping the table in amusement. "She was just making the whole thing up."  
  
Suddenly, however, the three pieces of the necklaces snapped together, as if they were all magnetic, and a blinding white light flashed out as they formed a circle, the jewels in the center lighting up as well, a mix of colors and white light shining throughout the room.  
  
"Wh...what's going on?!" One man yelled, trying to shield his face from the light.  
  
Tea squinted, trying to make out what was happened through the light and colors, but couldn't make anything out. The whole room rumbled, as if by a magical force from the newly formed antique.  
  
"What now?" Tea thought nervously, a bead of sweat dripping down her cheek.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Taerro and Joey walked out into the hallway from the basement, looking around for some sign of the men who had knocked them out before.  
  
  
  
"If you're here, come on out you cowards!" Joey yelled boldly, looking around, his eyes narrowed in anger.  
  
Taerro sighed, looking down at the single door at the end of the hallway. For a moment, he couldn't put his finger on what looked different about it, but something was definitely missing...  
  
"Peculiar..." Taerro murmured, walking down toward the end of the hallway, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Joey blinked, watching as his friend walked by.  
  
"T...Taerro?" he asked, following him, wondering. "What's wrong?"  
  
Suddenly, it clicked as Taerro reached the end of the hallway. He gasped, his eyes widening.  
  
"The table," he cried, quickly turning around. "Joey, the table that used to be sitting by this door is missing!"  
  
Joey shrugged, looking confused.  
  
"So? Maybe Madam Christina and the others needed it for the party or something..." he began, but Taerro opened the door, letting the cool air blow up at the two of them.  
  
He squinted in the darkness for a moment and then made out the outline of the desk, one side crushed, and several dents and nicks in it, as if it had fallen down the stairs.  
  
"Oh my!" he cried, rushing down the stairs, Joey running after him, looking confused.  
  
"What is it?" Joey asked, tripping over something on the stairs and nearly falling into Taerro. "Sheesh! Who left their shoe on the stairs?" he muttered, picking up the sneaker.  
  
Taerro squinted, trying to make out the shoe, when suddenly, he stumbled, looking horrified. Joey blinked, dropping the shoe on the floor.  
  
"What's up NOW?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.  
  
"That...that's Bakura's shoe," Taerro mumbled, looking down at the table/desk that was squished against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. "And that means, he was probably down here when that desk fell."  
  
Joey gulped.  
  
"You don't mean..." he muttered, glancing down at the desk as well.  
  
Taerro nodded, looking horror-struck.  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter 13  
  
REVIEW!  
  
"Yep! And next chapter up tomorrow! ^_~" 


	14. Chapter 14: The Power Unleashed

Chapter Fourteen: The Power Unleashed  
  
Notes: ^_^! Thanks for reviewing, everyone. And in reply to some reviews: Yeah, Lily looked horrible. -_-; It was a disgrace. ^-^ Thanks for the compliment on the chess tournie, and yeah, the pendants are cool. XD  
  
"Yep! And here's chapter fourteen!"  
  
**********  
  
Chapter Fourteen: The Power Unleashed  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes as he trudged through the snow, wind and snow blowing in his face as it began snowing again, hard. The cold stung at his cheeks, and the tail of his trenchcoat was soaked from trailing in the snow behind him, but nothing was going to stop the boy from getting to his brother.  
  
Looking up and squinting through the snow, he spotted a small, black house behind rusted barbed-wire gates. Determined, he continued through the whirlwinds of snow in front of him.  
  
"If Mokuba's nearby, I bet it's in that house," he murmured to himself, determined not to stop until he'd gotten his brother back, safe and sound.  
  
***********  
  
Taerro and Joey hurried down to the desk, looking horrified.  
  
"Bakura?!" Taerro called, looking for some way around the huge desk that was in the way on the stairs.  
  
Joey grasped one side of the desk and tugged, attempting to move it over to one side of the stairway so that they could get by.  
  
"Move out of the way," he called over to Taerro, who was trying to see if there was a way around the desk still, Joey gesturing for him to move back.  
  
Taerro nodded, moving to the other side to help Joey out, worried, as Bakura hadn't said anything since they'd gotten down there. Could he have been...squished? Taerro thought to himself, swallowing hard. No, no, don't think that way! He scolded himself afterwards, as he and Joey shoved the desk over to the other side stairway, making a narrow path to get through to the bottom.  
  
"Bakura!" Joey yelled, skipping the last two stairs and skidding down to the bottom where their white-haired friend was all curled up in a ball against the wall, looking relatively unharmed.  
  
"Bakura?" Taerro asked, tapping the boy lightly on the shoulder.  
  
Bakura looked up, looking quite pale and shivering as he did so.  
  
"T...Taerro? Joey?" he asked in a small voice, blinking.  
  
Joey sighed with relief.  
  
"Are you okay?" Taerro asked, looking worried.  
  
Bakura nodded shakily, taking Joey's hand and pulling himself back upright.  
  
"Yes...I'm...fine," he replied, looking at the desk, which Taerro and Joey had shoved over to the side.  
  
Joey sighed with relief.  
  
"Good...sheesh! You scared us! Don't do stuff like that again!" Joey demanded.  
  
Bakura nodded, shakily.  
  
"What happened, anyway?" Taerro asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Bakura sighed.  
  
"I was coming downstairs to find Mokuba, since he hadn't come back in nearly half an hour, when I saw these stairs and decided to try them," he explained, as Joey started back up the stairs. "But as soon as I got halfway down, someone pushed that desk down, trying to squish me! I managed to get underneath it, where it didn't hit the wall, but I almost was...squashed like a bug."  
  
Joey's eyebrows went up.  
  
"Who'd want to do that to you, Bakura?" he asked as the three reached the upstairs and closed the door to the dead-end stairway.  
  
"The same people who knocked us out and stole my pendant," Taerro replied seriously, looking worried. "And I have a feeling we weren't the only ones affected by all this."  
  
Joey gasped, whirling around.  
  
"You're right!" he cried, sprinting down the hallway. "They might have gotten to Yugi and Serenity and the others!"  
  
Taerro and Bakura ran after Joey, worried looks on their faces.  
  
**********  
  
Priest Seto stopped on the stairway, his eyebrows rising. It was clear no. A powerful force was pulsing somewhere nearby, and in evil hands! What could it be?  
  
As he floated downstairs, determined to find Seto or perhaps Yami, he ran right into Yugi and Yami, both of whom were coming out of a small room near the stairs. Yugi gasped, looking a little shocked at first.  
  
"Do you sense that?" Priest Seto asked Yami hurriedly, ignoring Yugi.  
  
Yami nodded seriously.  
  
"Our enemies have a new power, and I fear that some of our friends have been involved with this," he replied.  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"Have you seen Tea anywhere?" Yugi asked pleadingly, looking up at the priest.  
  
Priest Seto shook his head.  
  
"No, but I think that Mokuba was taken captive by the enemies," he replied. "We must find them and defeat them."  
  
Yami nodded.  
  
"Let's go," he replied, hurrying down the stairs, Yugi and Priest Seto following him.  
  
**********  
  
Tea, unable to take the blinding light any longer, squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the room shake up and down, the table rattling against the floor. Something bad is going to happen...Tea thought to herself as the rumbling stopped.  
  
She opened her eyes and saw the room in pieces, the chairs knocked over, posters and pictures had fallen off the walls and to the floor, and the men were all over the place, looking horror-struck.  
  
Mark swallowed, and stood up, looking at the still glowing circular piece of stone with the three jewels in it. It was no longer in three pieces stuck together, but in one whole stone circle.  
  
"I...impossible," Mark murmured, touching the warm surface of the stone. "It's...welded together..."  
  
One man blinked, his eyes wide as he leaned against the wall.  
  
"That crazy woman was right..." he muttered. "It IS magical!"  
  
Mark smirked, picking up the glowing rock.  
  
"Yes...it is..." he murmured, grinning as he lifted it off the table. "And if this thing has any powers like I hope it will, it'll make our business a LOT easier from now on."  
  
The other men in the room chuckled as Tea made a small noise as she backed her chair away. Everyone looked up at her, Tea biting her lip in fear.  
  
"Well, well, well," Mark murmured, walking over to Tea. "Looks like the missy finally woke up. You want to tell us a few things about your Millennium Item wielding friends?"  
  
Tea frowned, angrily.  
  
"No way," she snapped. "Except that you'll never beat them."  
  
The rock in his hands sparked, glowing brighter. Mark smirked, feeling very confident with the power of the newly formed antique in his hands.  
  
"I beg to differ..." he murmured, turning to his friends. "You!" he called, pointing at two men. "Stay here and guard the girl, and make sure that other brat doesn't get out either. The rest of us are going to pay that Madam Antique a little visit."  
  
Tea's eyes widened as she swallowed, feeling nervous.  
  
***********  
  
"Okay, Duke, take your turn, not that it'll matter," Tristan said smugly, Duke drawing his card nervously. "I'm going to wipe you out next turn regardless of what you play."  
  
The door suddenly opened to the gallery and Amber ran in, panting. Duke looked up, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You're finished already?" he asked as she stopped a few feet from the duel site.  
  
Amber nodded, still panting for breath.  
  
"Yeah...I played Kaiba..." she murmured, looking at the duel field curiously. "I lost."  
  
Duke sighed, smiling over at her.  
  
"That's okay," he replied. "Heck, I lost to him last time too."  
  
Amber nodded quickly, then changed the subject.  
  
"Yeah, but I think something bad's going on," she said worriedly. "Kaiba took off looking for Mokuba cause some spirit said he was kidnapped. And I haven't seen anyone else around in ages!"  
  
Duke bit his lip, looking out at the duel field. It sounded like they ought to regroup with the others, but then again, he couldn't just leave the duel field without finishing...  
  
Tristan looked seriously over at Duke.  
  
"Yo, Duke," he called, taking off his duel disk. "Leave your duel disk her on the floor, and we can finish up the duel after we figure out what's going on with everyone else."  
  
Duke nodded, placing his duel disk carefully on the floor before running over to Amber, who looked worried.  
  
"Let's go, you two!" Tristan called from the exit, Amber and Duke hurrying after him.  
  
**********  
  
Mokuba sighed, kicking the door one more time. The whole building had shook a few minutes ago, as if there were an earthquake that had just hit the area, although that was pretty unlikely. Something was definitely going on, though, Mokuba thought to himself as he heard a rush of people walk down the hallway and past his door.  
  
"Hey! Let me out!" he yelled, a surge of anger rushing through him. "Let me out now!"  
  
No one paid any attention to the boy's cries, however, and a few moments later, the noise in the hallway died down and Mokuba heard the sound of a door slam.  
  
"Oh!" Mokuba sighed, slumping down to the cold floor and shivering. "It's cold in here..." he murmured, hugging his knees close to his chest. "And where are they all going? Are they going to kidnap the others too?"  
  
Sadly, the boy bit his lip, fearful thoughts running through his frightened mind.  
  
***********  
  
Not more than ten minutes later, everyone back at the mansion had met up with Madam Christina, Serenity, and Mr. Taylor in the living room, everyone sitting down and explaining what they had heard and seen.  
  
"Oh my!" Madam Christina gasped after everyone had finished, Serenity sitting close to her brother on the couch. "I don't believe it!"  
  
Taerro nodded sadly as Yugi bit his lip, looking around.  
  
"Tea's not here either," he murmured, feeling sad. "It must have been the pendants that they were after, since both Tea and Mokuba are gone, and they stole your pendant, Taerro."  
  
Joey looked around, noticing someone else was missing as well.  
  
"Yeah...but that doesn't explain why Kaiba isn't here," he muttered, raising an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
Serenity nodded, sitting up.  
  
"He ran out the front door a while ago," she replied. "It looked like he was in a hurry."  
  
Priest Seto nodded, although not many in the room could see him.  
  
"He was looking for his brother," he replied, feeling guilty that he hadn't gone with his reincarnate.  
  
Mr. Taylor sighed, looking disturbed by this news as well.  
  
"Well, the first things first," he said, standing up and putting his book on the table beside the chair. "We should call the police, report two missing persons, and then tell them about the criminals."  
  
Madam Christina shook her head, feeling awful.  
  
"No, there's a blizzard out there," she murmured, looking down at the ground sadly. "There's no way the police could get out here tonight. The roads will be blocked in less than twenty minutes now."  
  
Duke bit his lip, standing up.  
  
"All right then," he suggested, looking around. "Some of us should stay here, just in case the thugs decide to come back. The rest of us should split up outside and try to find Kaiba, and the hideout."  
  
Mr. Taylor narrowed his eyes.  
  
"I can't allow you kids to go out into danger like that," he protested, Madam Christina nodding in agreement.  
  
"Besides, it's too snowy to see a thing," she replied. "I'd feel just awful if something happened to you! I already feel responsible for that girl and boy."  
  
Amber sighed, looking anxiously around. Yugi stood up finally, his Millennium Puzzle rattling against the chain that he had attached to it.  
  
"We have to rescue Tea and Mokuba," Yugi said firmly. "No matter what. And with the Millennium Puzzle, I'll always be protected."  
  
Madam Christina swallowed nervously as the others nodded, standing up as well.  
  
"Yeah, we've gotta help them out and put an end to this stupid crime squad's acts," Joey declared boldly, Serenity looking nervously up at her brother.  
  
Taerro nodded, he and Bakura turned to look at Bob, who had just entered the room.  
  
"Bob, are our coats dry?" Bakura asked politely.  
  
Bob blinked.  
  
"Well...yes," he replied suspiciously. "Why?"  
  
Tristan clenched a fist by his side, also looking determined.  
  
"Well bring them in, cause we've got a mission to get to!" he declared.  
  
The others nodded as Bob looked strangely at the group before turning around to collect the bin of coat. Joey turned around to face his sister.  
  
"Serenity," he said firmly. "I want you to stay here with Madam Christina and Mr. Taylor."  
  
Serenity sighed, looking sad.  
  
"But oniichan," she protested. "I don't want you to go alone. I'll be worried for you."  
  
"Aa, Joey won't be alone, Serenity," Tristan declared, putting an arm around Joey's neck. "We'll all be with him."  
  
Serenity still didn't look convinced, but she nodded slowly, not replying. Tristan raised an eyebrow, but suddenly got an idea on what to say.  
  
"Not to mention, I'LL be with him, and I'll make sure your brother doesn't get into any trouble whatsoever," he replied sweetly, smiling at Serenity, who smiled back.  
  
"What?!" Joey cried, turning red as Bob returned with the coats.  
  
"Thanks, Tristan," Serenity said in reply, feeling better.  
  
Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, thanks Tristan," he muttered.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, in Egypt, Shadi knocked on the door to the Ishtar's home. If there were anyone in Egypt who could be trusted, it was the Ishtars. A few minutes later, Ishizu opened the door, blinking strangely at Shadi.  
  
"Shadi?" she asked, opening the door wider. "What is it?"  
  
Shadi looked gravely at her sighing as Malik and Rishido came to the door as well, also looked surprised to see the Egyptian man at their door.  
  
"It seems that an evil from the past has reawakened, and has set its sights on Egypt," he declared, Ishizu's eyes widening.  
  
"What is this evil?" she asked, feeling apprehensive.  
  
"The Vampire Lord," Shadi replied, narrowing his eyes.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 14  
  
REVIEW!  
  
"And next chapter up tomorrow! ^_~" 


	15. Chapter 15: Plans in Action

Chapter Fifteen: Plans in Action  
  
Notes: ^_^ Chapter 15 is here! XD And Merry Christmas to everyone, too.  
  
"^^; Guess this Christmas Fic will be finished up a little late, since it's Christmas already. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and here we go!"  
  
*********  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Plans in Action  
  
Seto grimaced as he heard a strange noise coming down the road ahead of him, and two dim lights shown through the snow. Eyes widening, he quickly got off the road and into the field, just as a black car sped by, sloshing up murky snow from the road.  
  
"What was their hurry?" Seto murmured, suspicious as he looked up ahead at the black shop.  
  
There were no cars in the parking lot. That car must have come from that shop, Seto thought to himself, continuing on his way toward the shop. Something is definitely suspicious about that whole building, because who would go out in a blizzard like this?  
  
Shivering, his numb hand let go of his briefcase for a moment, causing it to fall into the snow. Sighing he knelt down beside it and opened it up. Inside were plenty of duel monster cards, another duel disk, and the Millennium Rod.  
  
"If I'm going to be encountering thugs," Seto thought, lifting the golden rod out of the briefcase and snapping it shut, clasping the cold metal handle of the rod. "The most useful thing will be this rod and the dagger at the end of it. I can leave my briefcase here for now, I suppose."  
  
Standing back up again, Seto hurried on toward the black building.  
  
***********  
  
"This is a pleasant way to spend the evening," Joey muttered as he, Duke, Amber, and Tristan walked through the field beside Madam Christina's house, eyes open for any sign of Seto, Mokuba, Tea, or any of the thugs.  
  
Hovering above them was Priest Seto, who was look rather worried. He and Yami had agreed that it would be better for the two of them to split up, so the priest had agreed to go with team two, as they called themselves.  
  
Yami, Yugi, Bakura, and Taerro had gone with Bob in Madam Christina's car, but they were expected to go along much slower than the other group, as Bob insisted on driving slowly, since the roads were becoming icy in the storm.  
  
"I'll say," Tristan replied, shielding his eyes with his hand. "But we can't let these thugs continue walking all over us."  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"True," she replied, pulling off her blue scarf and beginning to wrap it around her neck again. "I just hope they don't have weapons or anything."  
  
Joey nodded, thinking back to when he and Taerro had been attacked.  
  
"Well...they only hit Taerro and I with a dictionary, so if that's the best weapon they've got..." he muttered, nearly tripping in a hole that had been covered up by the fresh powder.  
  
Duke laughed.  
  
"Then the best counter-attack is verbal-abuse," he chuckled, Amber rolling her eyes.  
  
"Very funny, Duke," she murmured in reply, a strong current of wind blowing snow in their faces. "Let's think seriously, though, okay?"  
  
Duke sighed, his smile fading as he became serious again.  
  
"Sure," he replied, looking forward. "Guess we ought to just keep following the road. The thugs couldn't possibly be hiding-out too far away if they can come here and back in a snowstorm."  
  
Joey nodded.  
  
"Good thinking," he replied, running ahead. "So we'll just enter the first place we see!"  
  
Tristan sighed, looking to the left of him at a small barn-house.  
  
"Maybe the first suspicious-looking place, Joey," he corrected.  
  
**********  
  
"The Vampire Lord?" Ishizu asked, raising an eyebrow as Shadi walked inside and she closed the door. "Wasn't he a magician who fused his spirit with that of a monster back in ancient times?"  
  
Shadi nodded, sitting down at a table, Ishizu, Malik, and Rishido joining him.  
  
"Yes," he replied solemnly. "He was thought to be invincible by the people at the time, but the Pharaoh and the priests discovered his one weakness."  
  
Malik raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued.  
  
"What was that?" he asked curiously.  
  
"The fact that by becoming part Ka, he could be sealed away in stone, just like the monsters," Shadi replied. "Before he could become too powerful, they were able to weaken him in battle and then seal his spirit away in a stone tablet for all eternity."  
  
"But he has escaped...?" Rishido asked, looking confused. "How?"  
  
Shadi sighed.  
  
"A boy broke the tablet, and the spirit was fused inside him," The Egyptian replied. "But as the vampire grew in power, he was soon able to separate himself from the boy, and revive his old body. Now, he has come back to destroy Egypt and take out his revenge."  
  
Ishizu bit her lip, looking worried.  
  
"We must inform the Pharaoh and the others," she murmured. "Before it is too late."  
  
Malik still looked puzzled.  
  
"Shadi..." he murmured. "If the Vampire Lord gets too powerful before we can get to him...what will happen when we attempt to trap him?"  
  
Shadi sighed darkly.  
  
"In the event that the Vampire Lord becomes too powerful...there may be nothing we can do to stop him," he murmured.  
  
Ishizu nodded.  
  
"We will contact the Pharaoh and the others as soon as we can," she replied, standing up. "For now, we must gather information from the residents of Egypt."  
  
***********  
  
Tea bit her lip as the two men who were supposed to be watching her pulled out a deck of playing cards and began playing a game together, their backs turned toward the girl. Angrily, she began worming her arms around, searching for a way to break free.  
  
"Oh!" she gasped to herself, as she realized that the thugs, when tying her up, hadn't removed her duel disk. "If I can just use the edges of the duel disk as cutters, they can slice through the ropes!"  
  
Slowly and carefully, she began moving her arm back and forth, rubbing the edge of the disk against the ropes. To her delight, the ropes began to sever, falling apart, bit by bit.  
  
"A little more..." she murmured, cutting through the last bit of rope, causing them to slack as they fell loose. "Yes!"  
  
Eyeing the two men, she look down at her duel disk again. Quietly, she removed it, and gripped it in her hands as she sprang out of the chair. The two men didn't notice at first, but when the one across from Tea's side of the room glanced up and saw her, he gasped.  
  
"She's free!" he cried, jumping out of his chair. "Get her!"  
  
  
  
The other man attempted to turn around, but Tea brought down her duel disk on his head, causing him to back up, temporarily stunned.  
  
"Get over here!" The other one yelled, reached out his hand for her, but Tea smashed her duel disk into his arm as she flung the door open.  
  
"Back off!" she yelled, slamming the door shut and placing her duel disk on top of the knob and over the door, making it impossible to open the door right away.  
  
"Hey!" she heard an angry voice yell as the door rattled, as the men pulled on it. "Get back here! Open up!"  
  
With that, heart still pounding, Tea turned and ran down the hallway.  
  
**********  
  
Mark sat in the back of the black car, which was driving recklessly through the snow, the glowing rock on his lap. Smirking, he ran his finger around the smooth edges of the stone, feeling a pulsing energy coming from it.  
  
"I wonder if this thing actually has the power Zurui told me it did..." he murmured to himself, remembering a conversation with the woman, explaining what kinds of things it could do.  
  
"Speed it up, Jonny," One of the men in the backseat called up to the driver, who swerved around a corner.  
  
"I'm doing the best I can," Jonny retorted gruffly, gripping the steering wheel. "Ain't no walk in the park out here in a blizzard, you know."  
  
The man who had yelled rolled his eyes and turned to stare at the stone his boss was holding as well. The glow was almost hypnotizing...  
  
***********  
  
Yugi swallowed nervously as he tried to make out any familiar figure in the snow, to no avail. The swirling blizzard winds were making it too difficult to even make out a few trees or a house in the distance, despite the fact Bob was going only about 5 miles an hour.  
  
"Can't we go a little faster?" Bakura asked worriedly. "What if those thugs caught our friends?"  
  
Bob sighed, turning a corner slowly and easily.  
  
"I'm sorry, kid," he replied sadly. "But I can't risk getting in an accident. These roads are slippery, and if we end up crashing, that won't do your friends any good."  
  
Bakura sighed and nodded, understanding. Taerro sat in the passenger seat up front, squinting out the windshield, aiding Bob in seeing if any trees had fallen down in the path of the road.  
  
"Yami...maybe you should go on ahead," Yugi murmured mentally to his friend. "That way, you could help the others faster, if you find them, and then you could tell us where you are."  
  
Yami nodded, walking through the door of the moving vehicle.  
  
"Just call if you need my assistance, aibou," Yami said firmly. "Be safe."  
  
Yugi nodded determinedly.  
  
"I will, Yami," he replied with a smile.  
  
***********  
  
Seto reached out and grasped the cold metal handle of the door to the black building, relieved to find that it was unlocked. Quietly as he could, he pulled it open, revealing a cement-floored hallway of some sort, with crates and carts all over the place.  
  
Sighing, he closed the door and stood there for a moment, enjoying the warmth. A second later, he heard a clacking of shoes against the cement floor, and he ducked behind a cart, wondering if the building had security surveillance and had been alerted to his presence.  
  
A second later, the figure came into view, and Seto's eyebrows went up, the person turning out to be anyone but who he had expected. Tea, panting, leaned against the wall, looking pink-cheeked and worried.  
  
Seto stood up, causing the cart behind him to rattle, and Tea to cry out, turning sharply to look at him.  
  
"Oh!" she sighed, relieved. "Kaiba! Were you kidnapped too?"  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, walking forward toward her.  
  
"No, I wasn't," he replied. "Is Mokuba here?"  
  
Tea bit her lip, trying to remember what the men had said before in the meeting-room before Mark had left.  
  
"Well...they mentioned something about another prisoner," she admitted, looking around. "I just escaped them, but I didn't do a very good job of barring the door. They could be after me any second."  
  
Seto nodded, pushing Tea behind him.  
  
"All right then," he replied, starting down the hall again. "You stay behind me in case we run into anyone else. I'm not leaving until I find Mokuba."  
  
Tea nodded slowly, hurrying after Seto.  
  
"Taerro might be here too..." she murmured after a few moments, remembering the two other pendants on the table. "They had all three of the necklaces Madam Christina handed out to us the other day; mine, Taerro's, and Mokuba's."  
  
Seto paused and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"They kidnapped you and Mokuba for the pendants?" he asked, looking surprised. "But why, I wonder?"  
  
Tea gulped, remembering what had happened.  
  
"Apparently, like the golden medallion that Yami Taerro stole back in the fall, those three pendants, when put together, possess incredible powers," she murmured, looking sad. "Most of the team left to go raid Madam Christina's mansion. The only two that stayed behind were supposed to guard me and the other prisoner."  
  
Seto gritted his teeth, gripping the handle of the Millennium Rod tighter.  
  
"Come on," he muttered gruffly, jerking his head to the right as he turned a corner. "We've got to get Mokuba and get back to the mansion."  
  
Tea nodded, following after him.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi, Taerro, Bob, and Bakura were still on their way through the snow, the windshield-wipers not strong enough to brush away all the snow that was piling up on the windshield. A bead of sweat dripped down Bob's face, and Yugi knew that it was getting more and more dangerous by the minute to be out in the blizzard.  
  
Taerro suddenly gasped, pointing ahead as a pair of headlights whirled around the corner.  
  
"Look out for that car!" he yelled, Bob swerving their car to the left to avoid a collision as the black car sped onwards, unconcerned about Bob's car or any of the passengers.  
  
Just as Bakura was about to angrily comment on the driver's reckless driving in adverse weather, their car suddenly spun out of control, and went off the road, down a snow-covered hill, and into the woods.  
  
  
  
"Yami!" Yugi cried in his mind, as snow flew up on either side of the car, Bob frantically pulling on the steering wheel.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 15  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
"And the next update will most likely be on Friday, okay? Have a Merry Christmas everyone!" 


	16. Chapter 16: Attacks

Chapter Sixteen: Attacks  
  
Notes: ^_^ We're back for Chapter 16...and although Christmas day has passed, our Christmas fic is not over yet. XD And yes, I love cliffhangers. XD It always seems like such a good way to round off a chapter.  
  
"Thanks for reviewing, and here we go!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Sixteen: Attacks  
  
Tea and Seto walked down the dark hallways of the hideout, quietly. There was a faint banging that could be heard in the distance, which made Tea shiver. She didn't like to think that those two thugs she'd locked away could escape and be pursuing them at any minute.  
  
"How did you get here, Kaiba?" Tea asked quietly, looking at his soaked coat and pants.  
  
  
  
"I walked," Seto replied, narrowing his eyes, more interested in finding his brother than talking to Tea.  
  
Tea's eyebrows went up.  
  
"In the blizzard?!" she asked, looking horrified. "You're not even wearing a proper coat..."  
  
"It doesn't matter," Seto snapped in reply, causing Tea to fall silent.  
  
"Mokuba...where are you?" Seto murmured, looking around at all the doors that now lined the hallway. "Mokuba?" he called, louder, hoping if his brother was there, he would resond.  
  
**********  
  
Inside the cold and dank room, Mokuba's ears perked up as he thought he heard his brother's voice calling out to him. Quickly, he stood up and looked out the small window on the door, hoping to see the familiar face of his brother.  
  
"Niisama?!" Mokuba yelled, as he heard footsteps outside the door, and two people came into view.  
  
Mokuba grinned happily as he recognized them.  
  
"Niisama! Tea!" Mokuba cried, Seto sighing with relief.  
  
"Mokuba," Seto replied, looking in at Mokuba through the small window. "Are you alright?"  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied thruthfully. "They just locked me up in here...and took my necklace and my locket."  
  
Tea's eyebrow went up at this.  
  
"They must have mistaken Mokuba's locket for one of the pendants and grabbed it too," she concluded, looking over at Seto, who didn't looked as if he minded too much.  
  
"That's alright," Seto replied, bending down to look at the lock on the door. "We'll get it back soon, don't worry. But for now, let's just focus on getting out of this place."  
  
Tea nodded, shuddering as she heard a loud bang from on the other side of the building.  
  
"Yeah...and fast!" she added nervously, as Seto began picking the lock.  
  
**********  
  
Yami's eyes went wide as he heard something in his mind...his partner calling out to him. Quickly, he scanned the ground for any sign of the black car that Yugi and the others had been in, to no avail. The car was nowhere in sight.  
  
"Yugi..." Yami murmured, looking around again, nervously. "Yugi?!"  
  
**********  
  
"We've gone off the road!" Bakura cried, his eyes wide as the car bumped along down the hill, past several trees. "We've got to stop before we end up hitting a tree or something!"  
  
Bob nodded, furiously pulling at the steering wheel, and pushing on the brakes.  
  
"I know! I know!" he called back, Taerro looking out the window, making sure that they weren't about to slam into a tree.  
  
"Look out!" Yugi cried, seeing a bush up ahead.  
  
Bob swerved the car out of the way, and slammed on the brakes, causing the car to skid for a feet feet before slowing to a stop in the snow. For a minute, everyone in the car just sat there, stunned. Then, Taerro spoke up.  
  
"I guess the snow was a good thing, in this case," he commented, his voice shaking slightly. "I mean, it helped slow the car down."  
  
Bakura nodded, still looking rather shocked.  
  
"True..." he replied.  
  
Bob sighed, trying to start the engine again. Yugi gulped, knowing that the drop had probably damaged the car, meaning that they were stuck.  
  
"Yami..." Yugi murmured through the mental link. "Yami?"  
  
*********  
  
Yami's ears perked up as he heard Yugi's voice again. Eagerly, he replied.  
  
"Yugi?!" he cried.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Yeah...the car got thrown off the road..."  
  
"WHAT?!" Yami yelled, causing Yugi to wince.  
  
"No, no, Yami we're all fine," Yugi replied quickly. "It's just the car isn't. I think going off the road hurt it somehow. But what I wanted to ask you was whether or not...you sensed something strange."  
  
Yami nodded, turning to look back at the mansion.  
  
"I did..." he murmured. "It is as if I sense a great force of energy going back to the mansion..."  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Exactly," he replied. "You need to go back to the mansion and protect Serenity, Madam Christina, and Mr. Taylor," Yugi instructed.  
  
"But..." Yami tried to protest, worried for his partner's sake.  
  
"We'll be fine, Yami," Yugi assured him. "The others need your help. "We'll meet you back at the mansion, alright?"  
  
Yami sighed and nodded.  
  
"Alright, Yugi," he replied, heading quickly back toward the mansion. "But be careful, alright?"  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"We will."  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Priest Seto's eyes widened and he turned around quickly, sensing the energy force returning to the mansion, just as Yami and Yugi had. Quickly, he looked down at Duke, Amber, Tristan, and Joey, all of whom were trudging forward, not looking concerned.  
  
"Stop! You must go back to the mansion!" Priest Seto called, floating down and stopping in front of him. "The enemy has gone back there!"  
  
Unfortunately, however, no one paid any attention, and instead kept walking forward, right through the spirit of the priest.  
  
"Boy it's cold out here," Amber muttered, as if Priest Seto didn't exist.  
  
Sighing, Priest Seto realized no one could hear him, and therefore no one could heed his warning. Biting his lip, Priest Seto looked at Joey, who was lagging a little ways behind.  
  
"I apologize for this..." he muttered, floating over and possessing Joey's body. "Stop!" he called to the others, everyone stopping and turning around.  
  
"What is it, Joey?" Tristan asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. "We've got a job to do."  
  
"I'm not Joey," Priest Seto replied, causing the others to look at him as if he were even more crazy. "I am the spirit of the priest."  
  
Amber blinked.  
  
"The one that Kaiba was talking to earlier?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "And now you're inside of Joey?!"  
  
Priest Seto nodded.  
  
"Yes, but there is not time for explainations," he replied hastily. "The enemy is heading toward the mansion once more, and the ones there are unprotected. I will find Tea, Mokuba, and Seto Kaiba, while you return to the mansion."  
  
Duke raised an eyebrow skeptically.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked. "How can we trust you?"  
  
Priest Seto sighed in irritation.  
  
"There isn't TIME for this!" he yelled at them. "If you want to help your friends, you must return to the mansion, understand?"  
  
With that, he left Joey's body, Joey blinking in surprise as he noticed everyone's eyes were on him. Gulping, he backed up a little.  
  
"What did I do?" he asked, looking confused and worried.  
  
Tristan, Duke, and Amber cast glancing at each other, then Duke nodded, and the three sprinted back toward the mansion, leaving Joey behind.  
  
"Hey!" he yelled, Priest Seto sighing and hurrying off in the opposite direction. "Where are you going? And why are you leaving me! WAIT UP!"  
  
With that, Joey ran after his friends, still yelling after them.  
  
**********  
  
Madam Christina sighed, staring down at the book she'd been attempting to read in her hands. Mr. Taylor, too, found it hard to read, wishing he hadn't have let Tristan and the others go out by themselves.  
  
Serenity was sitting on the stairs, her chin resting on her knees as she pulled them close to her.  
  
"I hope Joey's okay," she murmured. "And the others too."  
  
Mr. Taylor forced a smile, and stood up, taking a quick glance out the window.  
  
"I'm sure they're fine," he assured Serenity. "After all, they always seem to come out on top of things, don't they?"  
  
Serenity nodded with a sigh, still not feeling relieved. Madam Christina put down her book as she heard a noise outside. Smiling, she stood up.  
  
"That must be them," she sighed, relieved, walking toward the front hallway. "Thank goodness..."  
  
Serenity, too, looked up hopefully, hoping to see her brother walk in any second.  
  
**********  
  
Outside, near the back door of the mansion, Mark stood with the others in his group around him, looking down at the glowing rock, the three jewels lit up as well, giving off a bright light in the midst of the blizzard.  
  
"Alright now," Mark murmured, running his finger over the three jewels, causing them to grow bright still. "Enable my group to inherit super power abilities."  
  
There was a bright glow over all of the members around, and then the glow died down. One man smirked, feeling a newfound power pulse through his veins, empowering him.  
  
"I think that old rock worked," he murmured, pulling at the door and pulling it right off its hinges.  
  
Mark nodded, grinning.  
  
"Yes...I think it did too..." he murmured, following his team into the building. "And this is going to make this heist a heck of a lot easier...not to mention, more fun..."  
  
***********  
  
Seto pulled off the sheath at the end of the golden Millennium Rod, revealing the sharp dagger at the end. Tea shivered as she heard another huge crash, and a splintering sound.  
  
"Kaiba...hurry," she murmured, inching closer to him as he began to pick the lock with the dagger. "I think they may have gotten free..."  
  
"I know," Seto snapped, hearing a click in the lock, and it fell to the ground with a clank.  
  
Seto swung open the door and Mokuba hurried out, looking relieved. He wrapped his arms around Seto's waist, hugging him quickly as Seto replaced the sheath of the Millennium Rod.  
  
"Thanks, niisama," Mokuba said, letting go of his brother, smiling up at him.  
  
Seto smiled back, about to reply, when there was another crash, and Tea shrieked as the two thugs she'd locked in the meeting room suddenly came barging out into the hallway, looking furious.  
  
Mokuba backed away as the thugs lunged forward, aiming at Tea to get revenge for trapping them away. With their newfound power, they were a lot stronger than before, and Tea only just managed to duck in time to avoid the attack.  
  
Seto lunged out at one of them with the blunt end of the rod, hoping to render them unconscious temporarily, but the attack had no effect on the man, who merely lashed out at Seto as Tea tried to avoid another attack.  
  
"Mokuba, get out of here!" Seto yelled at Mokuba, as he ducked another man, Mokuba looking worriedly from the door to his brother and Tea again.  
  
"But..." he protested, jumping as Tea cried out in pain as she hit the wall, slumping down to the floor, limply.  
  
"NOW!" Seto yelled back, Mokuba cringing.  
  
Reluctantly, he started for the door...but was stopped as the man who had attacked Tea now grabbed his arm roughly.  
  
"You're not going anywhere, punk!" The man snarled, yanking Mokuba closer to him, Mokuba wincing.  
  
Seto's eyes widened in worry and rage. He gripped the handle of the Millennium Rod tightly, the golden eye on top lighting up mysteriously as anger rushed through him.  
  
"STOP!" he shouted angrily, stepping forward, and suddenly, the man did.  
  
His eyes became blank, and unseeing, and he released Mokuba's arm, the little boy running over to his brother for safety.  
  
"Niisama!" he cried, as the man stood still, as if waiting for something.  
  
The man who had been attacking Seto, too, had stopped in his tracks, and was now looking blankly at Seto. Seto blinked, the Millennium Rod still glowing in his hands. Tea quivered, standing up, looking shocked.  
  
"Kaiba...what did you do?" she asked, her eyes wide.  
  
  
  
Seto frowned, looking from one man to the other, both of whom were staring at him with blank eyes. Mokuba clung to his brother's coat, his eyes wide as well.  
  
"Niisama?" Mokuba asked, wondering what had happened.  
  
"Mind control..." Seto murmured, vaguely remembering how Malik had used the ability of the rod to use others to do his bidding.  
  
He had never expected to use it himself, however.  
  
**********  
  
Priest Seto's eyes widened and he slowed to a stop as he continued on his way through the blizzard toward the hideout. He had felt another force of energy...but this was different. It was almost...familiar.  
  
"The rod..." he murmured, realizing that he must have been sensing the energies from the Millennium Rod. "Seto Kaiba must be using it...though...the energies I sensed were stronger than when used to summon a monster. Could he have used one of the other abilities of the Millennium Item?"  
  
Narrowing his eyes, he spotted the black building, and he hurried down toward it, eager to find his reincarnate and the other two who had been kidnapped.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 16  
  
^_^ Review please!  
  
"And next chapter up probably tomorrow! ^_~" 


	17. Chapter 17: Battle

Chapter Seventeen: Battle  
  
Notes: ^_^ Here we go with Chapter 17!  
  
"And thanks, once again, for reviewing!"  
  
**********  
  
Chapter Seventeen: Battle  
  
"Mind Control?" Tea asked curiously, stumbling over to Seto and the glowing rod. "Like, when Malik used to use the rod to make us do what he wanted us to?"  
  
Seto nodded slowly, lost in though.  
  
"Yes..." he murmured, turning the rod over in his hands before looking up at the two men before him. "Somewhat..."  
  
Mokuba blinked, looking up at his brother.  
  
"Niisama...does this mean you can make these two do what you want them to?" he asked hopefully.  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"I suppose," he replied, narrowing his eyes. "But I frankly just want them out of the way, which is exactly what I'm going to do."  
  
Mokuba and Tea both looked at each other, excited.  
  
"Go into that room, now," Seto commanded, holding the rod out in front of him, the glow becoming brighter.  
  
The two men walked forward slowly and into the room where Mokuba had been locked in, and they turned around to face Seto, who slammed the door shut.  
  
  
  
"Stay in this room without moving for two hours," Seto continued, putting the lock on the door. "Then, if the police arrive, turn yourselves in."  
  
Mokuba giggled as Tea picked up the lock and put it back on the door. She smiled as she relocked it and turned around.  
  
"Mind control is cool," Mokuba commented, grinning up at Seto, who still looked serious. "When the good-guys have it...I guess..." he murmured, remembering the incidents with Malik.  
  
Tea nodded.  
  
"It really helped us put those guys away," she agreed. "But we still have to get back to the mansion, fast!" Tea cried, remembering the meeting. "Those men are taking the stone made of all the pendants and are going to use it to invade the mansion!"  
  
Seto nodded, and turned toward the door.  
  
"Let's go then," he said, Mokuba and Tea hurrying after him as he opened the door and they walked out into the snow.  
  
***********  
  
Madam Christina opened the front door of her mansion and looked out at the porch, seeing no one. Blinking she stepped outside.  
  
"Yugi?" she called, hoping to see him...or at least one of his friends hanging around. "Joey? Bob?"  
  
Looking worried, her eyes narrowed, she walked back into the house and closed the door. Serenity stood up and tilted her head to the side, confused.  
  
"They weren't there?" she asked, Madam Christina shaking her head.  
  
"No, no one was there at all," she murmured, Mr. Taylor looking suspiciously out the window, looking for some sign of Yugi and the others through the blizzard. "Strange...I thought for sure I'd heard someone out there..."  
  
Serenity sighed, her shoulders sagging.  
  
"Maybe it was just the wind and the snow," she muttered, turning around. "I'm going to go into the kitchen to get something," she added, walking toward the back room.  
  
Madam Christina nodded, still feeling awkward. If it hadn't been Yugi and his friends outside...could it have been someone else? Or had it simply been the wind?  
  
Sighing, she sat back down in her chair, worried.  
  
**********  
  
As Serenity turned on the stove to heat some milk for hot chocolate, she pulled out a jug of milk and set it on the countertop. Sighing, she poured some into the pan, wishing all the others were around her to enjoy it with.  
  
"I hope their okay..." she said quietly, replacing the cap as there was a rattle from the door behind her.   
  
Raising an eyebrow, she turned around to see the side door fling open, letting a large amount of whirling snow fly in, as well as four dark figures. Serenity gasped, backing up as the door closed, and the snow tornado died down.  
  
"J...Joey!" Serenity cried, smiling, happy to see her brother, Duke, Amber, and Tristan, all of whom looked soaked and covered in snow. "You're back!"  
  
  
  
Tristan narrowed his eyes, suspicious.  
  
"Yeah...the priest told us that the enemy was heading toward the mansion," he murmured as a door behind Serenity opened.  
  
Joey's eyes widened in horror as two gloved hands from behind Serenity tried to grab her.  
  
"Serenity!" Joey yelled, Serenity whirling around and seeing the man.  
  
"Aa!" she screamed, backing up as the man advanced on her.  
  
"Just come with us and you won't get hurt, kids," he murmured in a malevolent tone of voice, a grin on his face.  
  
Narrowing her eyes, Serenity grabbed the pan with her boiling milk and thrust it at the attackers, splashing the hot drink all over them.  
  
"Oow!" The front man, who had received most of the damage, howled in pain, trying to wipe off the drink as two others from behind him lunged forward, much faster than an average person.  
  
"It's like they're super-charged!" Joey cried, grabbing Serenity and pulling her away.  
  
"They're gonna need a lot more than that to stop us," Duke replied, tossing a handful of dice at the men, mingled with several marbles which Amber was throwing out as well.  
  
"It's a barrage!" One man yelled as they were hit with the dice and marbles, Duke pulled Joey and Serenity over to door that lead back into the hallway.  
  
"Let's go!" Tristan yelled, Amber following after he and the others, trying to escape before the attackers could recover and pursue.  
  
**********  
  
Meanwhile, Bob had managed to get out of the car, and was now helping the other three out of the car as well. The car had stopped slightly tilted on one side, so Yugi and Bakura were climbing up the seats and out the door, one at a time.  
  
Taerro sighed, looking through the storm, which was slightly less powerful in the woods, since they were under trees.  
  
"It'll take us at least fifteen minutes to get back to the mansion in this weather, if not longer," Taerro murmured, walking up the hill and to the road again.  
  
Yugi bit his lip.  
  
"I told Yami to head back, because the enemy is now trying to strike at the mansion instead," he replied. "I believe that was they that pushed us off the road just a few minutes ago."  
  
Bakura nodded, following Taerro up the hill.  
  
"I sensed it as well," he replied, biting his lip as Bob and Yugi joined them.  
  
"Well, we may as well start heading back toward the mansion, since they're going to need all the help they can get to fight off these villains," Yugi said determinedly, running down the road.  
  
"Wait for us!" Taerro called, he and Bakura taking off after their spiky-haired friend, Bob hurrying after the three boys.  
  
***********  
  
Priest Seto scanned the snow-covered ground, looking for some sign of his reincarnate, or his friends. Suddenly, he spotted three dots down below, and he floated down to see Seto, Tea, and Mokuba, all struggling to make it through the snow.  
  
"Seto Kaiba!" Priest Seto called, and both Seto and Mokuba turned around to see the priest standing behind them, looking relieved.  
  
Tea raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Priest!" Mokuba cried, smiling. "Where have you been?"  
  
"Looking for the two of you," Priest Seto replied, still relieved they hadn't been harmed. "The enemy has gone back to the..."  
  
"Mansion. We know," Seto replied, turning to Tea. "Tea told us. We'd better hurry."  
  
"Are you talking to another spirit?" Tea asked, squinting through the snow, unable to see anyone other than Seto and Mokuba.  
  
Mokuba nodded.  
  
"Yeah, it's the priest," he replied, continuing forward after his brother. "I bet he can help us through this."  
  
Priest Seto sighed, floating after the group.  
  
"I wish I could," he replied, biting his lip. "But I'm not sure how..."  
  
Seto sighed, clutching the Millennium Rod in his hands still and trying to ignore the cold. Tea pulled her sweated tighter around her, trying to keep warm in the midst of the blizzard.  
  
Mokuba shivered.  
  
"It's not much farther, is it, niisama?" he asked, his toes beginning to feel like ice in his shoes.  
  
Seto sighed.  
  
"It's about a mile still," he muttered, squinting through the snow whirling around. "We'll never make it in time."  
  
Tea sighed, biting her lip.  
  
"We'd need an airplane or something," she said wishfully.  
  
Priest Seto's eyes lit up suddenly, and a grin spread over his face.  
  
"Kaiba..." he murmured, causing the boy to stop and look up at him. "Are you up to summoning a dragon?"  
  
**********  
  
Madam Christina and Mr. Taylor jumped as they heard a crash from the kitchen. Mr. Taylor's book fell from the arm of his chair to the floor with a clunk.  
  
"What was that?" Madam Christina cried, feeling worried. "Did Serenity drop something?"  
  
Suddenly, there was a flash of bright, white light from the hallway, and a tall figure, surrounded by three others walked into the room. Madam Christina backed away, shielding her eyes from the white light that was seemingly coming from something one of the men was holding.  
  
Mr. Taylor stood his groud, determined to figure out what these crooks were after.  
  
"What do you want from us?" he demanded, putting his hand over his eyes to block out the light as well.  
  
Mark smirked, the white light dying down slightly.  
  
"What do we want?" he asked, as if it were obvious. "We want the rare antiques, of course. We're a crime organization, and we're looking to take the rarest of the rares here for sale on the black market."  
  
Madam Christina's eyes widened in horror.  
  
"But that's not what I spent all those years collecting for!" she burst out in anger. "My life's work was put into collecting those antiques for GOOD purposes!"  
  
Mark snickered, the door leading in from the kitchen bursting open, Joey, Serenity, Duke, Amber, and Tristan stumbled in, looking surprised to see Mark the other criminals in the gang.  
  
"You!" Tristan cried, pointing an accusing finger at them. "You're the ones behind all this!"  
  
"You won't get away with this!" Amber declared boldly, pulling several more marbles out of her pocket, Duke doing likewise with his dice.  
  
Mark smirked again, this time wider. The stone in his hands began to glow brightly, filling the whole room with the white light. Suddenly, everyone felt themselves being lifted up and thrown against the wall, pinned their by some unseen force.  
  
"What the...?!" Joey cried, trying to wiggle free, but the white light seemed to be holding him in place. "I'm stuck!"  
  
"M...me too!" Duke cried, gritting his teeth.  
  
"My goodness," Madam Christina murmured, biting her lip. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
Mark smiled, his associates running out of the room.  
  
"Go collect all the rare antiques that were on the list," he called to his men before turning back to his captives. "Why? Because that's how we work. That's how we get what we need."  
  
Mr. Taylor gulped.  
  
"This doesn't look too good," he murmured, looking around for some means of escape.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Yugi, Bakura, Taerro, and Bob hurried through the snow, the house in sight in ahead.  
  
"There's the mansion!" Yugi yelled, picking up the pace. "And Yami's right outside!"  
  
True. The spirit of the Pharaoh was hovering near the door, and upon hearing the voice of his reincarnate, he turned around and spotted Yugi and the others coming toward him. Waving, he flew up to meet him.  
  
"Yugi! I'm glad you're safe," he sighed, feeling relieved.  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Have you seen Duke or Madam Christina or any of the others?" he asked, worriedly looking up at the mansion, where a bright flash seemed to be coming from the window.  
  
Yami shook his head, turning sharply back toward the mansion.  
  
"That white light..." Bakura murmured, walking forward. "I think the others are in danger."  
  
Taerro nodded.  
  
"Let's get a move on!" he called, gesturing for the others to follow as he hurried up toward the mansion.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Seto, Tea, Mokuba, and Priest Seto landed in the back yard of the mansion, Seto, his brother and Tea riding on a Blue Eyes White Dragon that Seto had summoned with the Millennium Rod.  
  
"Thanks, Blue Eyes," Seto sighed, sliding off the faithful dragon's back, the dragon nodding, as if he understood his master.  
  
"That was so cool!" Mokuba cried, grinning as he watched the Blue Eyes spread out its graceful wings. "I didn't the Millennium Rod could summon monsters like that any time."  
  
Tea nodded, shivering slightly. The ride on the dragon, although being far better than trudging through the snow, had been a cold one, and rather uncomfortable, seeing as how three people were trying to sit on its back at once.  
  
She was more than glad that they'd finally reached the mansion.  
  
"Yeah...it was cool," she murmured, backing up and walking right through Priest Seto as she headed toward the back door.  
  
Priest Seto chuckled as the Blue Eyes returned to the dark world of the duel monsters, the Millennium Rod's glow dying down as Seto sighed. Summoning a Blue Eyes had taken away some of his spiritual energy, and the strain of keeping it up, as well as having commanded two people to do his bidding earlier, was beginning to get to him.  
  
  
  
Seto smiled at Mokuba, who still looked excited at having ridden on a dragon with his brother. It reminded him of a dream he'd had a long time ago, right after he and Seto had been adopted...  
  
Mokuba's thoughts were cut short, however, as Tea cried out, backing away from the door, which she left hanging open. Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, walking forward.  
  
Tea swallowed.  
  
"I think the others have been attacked," she muttered, looking worriedly over at he and Mokuba. "I think we're too late!"  
  
  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 17  
  
^_^ REVIEW PLEASE!  
  
"And, as always, next chapter up soon!" 


	18. Chapter 18: Combined Forces

Chapter Eighteen: Combined Forces  
  
Notes: o_o;;; *blinks at review from The Truth.* Um...oookay. O_o`  
  
"^^;;; ANYWAY! Here's chapter 18. And thanks for reviewing!" ^_^!!  
  
**********  
  
Chapter Eighteen: Combined Forces  
  
"Too late?!" Mokuba cried, running up to the stoop.  
  
Seto hurried after him, not wanting his brother to accidentally run into some trap, or get caught by one of the intruders. Tea peered inside again, glancing from the red-hot burner to the pan of spilled milk on the floor.  
  
"You think someone else was kidnapped?" she murmured, biting her lip as the three, followed by the priest, walked inside.  
  
"I don't know," Seto muttered, looking over at the door that lead into the living room and dining room.  
  
A white light was coming into the kitchen from underneath the door, causing Seto to become suspicious.  
  
"I think something's going on in there," Mokuba murmured, quivering.  
  
Priest Seto nodded, feeling uneasy.  
  
  
  
"There is a large force of energy coming from that room," he murmured. "That is where the villains must be."  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Serenity held her breath, hiding underneath the table in the living room. Mark hadn't noticed, but his spell hadn't affected everyone in the room. In fact, she was the only one who hadn't been affected by it, and she was now biding her time, waiting for the right moment to act.  
  
"He seems to be powered by the stone he's holding," she thought to herself, swallowing hard. "If only he could drop it or break it, maybe onnichan and the others will be freed. But..."  
  
She took a deep breath and shivered.  
  
"I don't think I've got enough strength to do anything about it..." she thought miserably, squeezing her eyes shut.  
  
***********  
  
Mark stepped forward, eager to torment his captives a little, since they were bound by the powers of the stone and unable to do anything to stop he and his group from doing at they pleased.  
  
"How does it feel now, to be helpless and watching your life's collection being dismantled?" he taunted Madam Christina, who's face grew pink with anger.  
  
"You won't take my collection," she snapped in reply. "You'll be stopped."  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"That's right!" Duke shouted back, Tristan looking around, curiously.  
  
"Serenity's not on the wall..." he murmured, scanning the ground. "Did she get left in the kitchen? No...she was with us just before we got stuck up here..."  
  
Suddenly, he spotted the brown-haired girl, quivering under the table. Raising an eyebrow, he smiled.  
  
"At least she's not captive yet," Tristan thought to himself happily. "And maybe she can figure a way to get us free too."  
  
Mark laughed, feeling immensely humored by the six's spirits, despite the fact they were in no position to do anything about it.  
  
"Please," he laughed, the stone continuing to glow. "You couldn't stop us even if you had the chance. No, you can only sit back and watch as we rob you of everything you've spent so much time striving to get."  
  
Joey growled.  
  
"That's just cruel, man," he spat back at Mark. "And like we said, we're tougher than we look! As soon as Yugi gets here..."  
  
Mark burst out laughing again.  
  
"Yugi? That shrimp with the hair-do?" he laughed, shaking his head. "Keep dreaming. We're unstoppable!"  
  
At that moment, however, the front door burst open, and Yugi, Yami, Bakura, Taerro, and Bob all barged into the hall behind the living room, causing Mark to turn around, surprised.  
  
"What?!" he cried out, Serenity gritting her teeth.  
  
"Now or never," she murmured, darting out from under the table and running at the unsuspecting man.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Seto, Tea, and Mokuba all turned sharply as a door creaked open and two thugs carrying a boxful each of antiques staggered into the kitchen. Priest Seto raised an eyebrow as Tea gasped.  
  
"They're stealing the antiques!" she cried, pointing at them, causing them both to look up.  
  
"Hey, how'd you two escape from the shop?!" One of the men exclaimed, looking at Tea and Mokuba in horror. "And how did you get back here so quickly?!"  
  
Mokuba crossed his arms.  
  
"That's none of your business," he replied tartly as Seto narrowed his eyes. "But you're not getting away with those antiques, that's for sure."  
  
Two more thugs walked in from behind the two with the boxes, both of whom were setting them down on a table, cracking their knuckles.  
  
"Well, who's gonna stop us?" One threatened, glaring at Tea and Seto.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"We are," Tea piped up bravely, looking around the kitchen for something she could use to defend herself with if need be.  
  
She was hoping, however, Seto might be able to use the Millennium Rod to finish them off again, like he had back at the hideout. Mokuba backed up, not frightened, but not wanting to get in the way. He knew Seto would be able to handle them.  
  
"Get them!" One of the thugs cried and lunged at Tea, who picked up the rolling pin that Amber had left out on the counter.  
  
"Back off!" she cried, swinging the pin at the man, who reluctantly backed away, Seto lunging at him, sending him crashing into the man behind him.  
  
"Stupid kids!" Another yelled, leaping over his two fallen friends and at Seto, while the last one ran to grab Tea.  
  
Seto slammed the man who had been attacking him on the head with the rod, sending him to ground unconscious, and Tea continued to defend herself with the rolling pin. Mokuba picked up a cookbook, just in case, and looked up just in time to see three more men entering the room, one sneaking up on his brother.  
  
"Niisama!" Mokuba yelled, Seto turning around just in time to dodge an attack.  
  
"There's more!?" Tea cried, backing up against the wall.  
  
  
  
Mokuba clutched his "weapon" closely, hoping that his brother and Tea would be able to last against them. Priest Seto narrowed his eyes, debating on what course of action he should take, since his reincarnate seemed to have things under control.  
  
At least, for the time being, he added to himself.  
  
***********  
  
"Ha!" Serenity cried, running forward and shoving Mark with all her might, causing him to lose his balance and fall over, the white stone skidding across the room.  
  
"Serenity!" Joey cried worriedly from where he still was stuck on the wall, unable to move.  
  
Mark snarled, slapping Serenity across the face, causing her to fall back into the wall with a heavy thud. She then slid to the ground with a groan.  
  
"Brat," he muttered, turning around to see Yugi, Millennium Puzzle glowing, Yami taking over.  
  
"You will pay for what you have done to my friends," he declared boldly, his violet eyes narrowed in anger.  
  
"You creep!" Joey yelled down at Mark angrily. "Serenity! Are you okay?!"  
  
"Serenity!" Tristan, Duke, and Amber chorused, but Serenity had been knocked out from the blow and was unable to reply.  
  
Mark raised an eyebrow, the power from the stone still working, even though he wasn't holding it anymore.  
  
"What are you going to do about it?" he barked at Yami as Taerro and Bakura slipped over into the corner where Serenity and the rock were both lying on the floor.  
  
"Serenity?" Bakura asked quietly, gently shaking the girl while Taerro picked up the stone, unnoticed by Mark.  
  
"Duke?" Amber hissed over to her black-haired friend, who perked up and turned to look at her.  
  
"Yeah?" he replied, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"If you can still move your hands, get all the dice you can and get ready to throw," Amber murmured, trying with difficulty to pull her amber-colored marbles out of her pockets.  
  
Duke nodded with a grin, and set to work pulling them out, trying to get his arms and hands to move under the spell from the rock. Yami noticed them, and Taerro, out of the corner of his eye. He smirked at Mark.  
  
"It looks like our teamwork has paid off," he murmured, the puzzle continuing to glow as Mark looked confused, and angered.  
  
"Teamwork? Ha! You're going down just like the rest of your friends!" Mark yelled, lunging forward, when there were suddenly a huge cracking sound, and everyone turned toward the corner, where Taerro had smashed the glowing rock up against the wall with all his might.  
  
Mark's eyes widened in horror as the glittering pieces fell to the ground, shattered apart.  
  
"NO!" he yelled in rage as there was a flash of white light throughout the room, and everyone pinned to the wall fell to the floor with a thud as the magic power of the rock wore off.  
  
"Ow..." Joey moaned, rubbing his head as he looked up at Mark, who looked furious.  
  
"You didn't!" he yelled, gritting his teeth. "You've ruined the stone! You've broken it!"  
  
Taerro smirked with a nod.  
  
"Right," he replied.  
  
"And with the stone pieces separated, the power that you gained from it has worn away," Yami declared, the eye of Horus appearing on his forehead, glowing brightly. "And now, you and your crime group will be defeated."  
  
Mr. Taylor grinned as Duke and Amber stood up. Mr. Taylor bent down to help Madam Christina to her feet as Mark growled in annoyance.  
  
"Think again, kid," Mark snarled, pulling a gun out of his jacket pocket, and turning it to face Yami, who bit his lip.  
  
"YOU think again!"  
  
Mark turned around suddenly, only to be barraged with the remainder of Amber and Duke's dice, cause him to trip and fall backwards. The gun went off and shattered the window on the side of the room, glass shards littering the floor.  
  
Madam Christina gasped, putting a hand over her mouth as Mr. Taylor and Tristan ran forward, Tristan yanking the gun out of Mark's hands, and Mr. Taylor pinning him down.  
  
"Alright!" Amber declared, slapping Duke high five.  
  
Yami smiled.  
  
"Looks like this guy is down, and now that the rock is broken, none of the others will be super-charged," Taerro commenting, Bakura's eyes lighting up as he looked outside through the broken window.  
  
"It's the police!" he cried happily as several police cars pulled up on the snowy lawn, their sirens wailing and the lights flashing.  
  
Madam Christina sighed, Bob coming over to her.  
  
"Are you alright, ma'am?" he asked, gentlemanly.  
  
Madam Christina smiled and nodded.  
  
"I am now," she replied.  
  
**********  
  
Seto lashed out at one of the few remaining people with the Millennium Rod, just as another attacked him from behind. As he tried to defend himself from both men at once, Priest Seto sensed the power decreasing.  
  
"Well, I think it's time this quarrel came to an end," he declared, narrowing his eyes as a flash of white lightning struck behind him, and the mighty White Dragon appeared, roaring.  
  
The two men who had been attacking Seto, and the one who had still been giving Tea problems, backed away in fear from the ferocious-looking beast.  
  
"White Dragon!" Priest Seto declared with a smile, just as the door behind him burst open, and several officers ran in.  
  
Quickly, Seto motioned for the priest to recall his ka, and Priest Seto did so before the cops could noticed. They were too busy surrounding the criminals.  
  
"You're all under arrest," The head officer declared as his associates slapped handcuffs on each of the men.  
  
Tea sighed with relief as she turned around and saw Yugi coming toward her, a smile on his face.  
  
"Tea!" he cried, grinning broadly. "You're alright!"  
  
Tea blushed, nodding.  
  
"Yugi was worried about me?" she thought to herself, feeling warm inside.  
  
"Hey, Tea's okay!" Duke called to the others, peering into the kitchen. "Mokuba and Kaiba too!"  
  
Mokuba waved before running over to his brother and hugging him.  
  
  
  
"You were great, niisama!" he cried, smiling up at him.  
  
Seto smiled down at his brother, glad they'd both made it through the chaos in one piece. Tea gave Yugi a quick hug as Joey helped Serenity to her feet in the other room.  
  
"Are you alright sis?" he asked, looking down at her worriedly.  
  
Serenity smiled weakly up at her brother.  
  
"Yes, oniichan," she replied, hugging him tightly.  
  
Tristan decided he'd wait a few minutes before congratulating Serenity on her brilliant move during the battle, and turned to his father instead.  
  
"Er...good work, Dad," he said awkwardly, flashing a thumbs-up at his dad, who looked rather pleased with himself.  
  
"You too, son," he replied, returning the gesture. "Wait until your mother hears what we did during our "together" time," he added, looking dazed.  
  
Tristan laughed as Tea broke away from Yugi, feeling her cheeks go red with embarrassment.  
  
"You're freezing, Yugi!" she exclaimed, although she wasn't much warmer herself.  
  
"So are you, Tea," Yugi laughed in reply.  
  
Priest Seto smiled down at his reincarnate and Mokuba before fishing through the crowd for the Pharaoh. He found him watching the police take the men out to the cars, talking to Madam Christina while they did so.  
  
"Pharaoh."  
  
Yami blinked and turned around to face Priest Seto. He gave a half-smile.  
  
"Hello," he replied. "Seems like we've gotten to the bottom of this."  
  
Priest Seto nodded, watching Taerro gather the pieces of the broken stone, the three jewels that had been embedded in the stones having fallen out of their place as well.  
  
"Yes, it does," he replied.  
  
Yami raised an eyebrow, remembering feeling several other forces of energy during the time he had been outside.  
  
  
  
"Was Kaiba using the Millennium Rod at any time?" he prodded, wondering if the priest knew.  
  
Priest Seto remembered the force that he'd felt from the Millennium Rod, and turned to look through the crowd at Seto, who had put the Millennium Rod down on the countertop with sigh, looking quite exhausted.  
  
"Maybe..." Priest Seto replied, unsure himself as to what he could have been sensing.   
  
Had he used one of the other abilities of the rod?  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes, curious himself, although glad that everything had worked out all right for everyone. A few minutes later, Madam Christina shut the door and walked into the kitchen, where everyone was gathered. Her eyes were shining.  
  
"I don't know how to thank you all for your help," she began, looking around at them all. "You saved my life's work...all of my most precious antiques, and risked your own lives in the process."  
  
Yugi smiled, scratching his cheek.  
  
  
  
"It was no problem," he replied, the others nodding. "We're always glad to lend a hand."  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter 18  
  
^_^ Review! And the last chapter will be up tomorrow!  
  
"Yep! Finally. XD" 


	19. Chapter 19: A Very Merry Christmas

Chapter Nineteen: A Very Merry Christmas  
  
Notes: ^_^ Well here we are, finally finishing up our Christmas fanfic, and at least it's done before New Year's. XD  
  
"True, true. ^^ As always, our next story will start tomorrow, and it's going to be called "The Evil Strike."  
  
  
  
The villain's going to be a familiar enemy and there were many, many clues as to who that's going to be. XD  
  
"Well, here we go!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Nineteen: A Very Merry Christmas  
  
The next morning, the sun shone brightly on Madam Christina's mansion. It was late in the morning, around 11:00, but everyone was just getting up and getting downstairs for breakfast. They'd decided to sleep in, all tired from their experiences the day before.  
  
Tea passed the plate of toast to Joey, who still looked half-asleep, although the scent of fresh breakfast food was making him a bit more alert. Bakura and Mokuba were sitting on the other side of the table next to Yugi, and Amber and Duke were next to Tea. Mr. Taylor and Tristan walked downstairs, both dressed already.  
  
"Sorry to have slept in so late," Mr. Taylor apologized, sitting down at the end of the table, across from Madam Christina, who still looked happy that everything had gone back to normal.  
  
"No problem at all," Madam Christina replied as Tristan sat down. "It looks as though not everyone has woken up yet anyway."  
  
Joey nodded, digging into the toast and eggs.  
  
"Yeah, Taerro and Serenity aren't up yet," he muttered through a mouthful of food.  
  
Amber nodded, looking around.  
  
"And neither is Kaiba," she observed. "Strange, he's always up by now."  
  
Mokuba shrugged as he poured the orange juice into a tall glass.  
  
"I think yesterday wore him out," he replied, taking a sip of his drink.  
  
  
  
Joey was about to make a comment, but his mouth was too full, so he decided against it. Instead, Bakura nodded.  
  
"I admit, it was quite exciting," he replied in agreement. "Although, I don't think I particularly like that kind of excitement."  
  
Yugi laughed, looking around for some sign of his partner, but Yami was not to be seen. Deciding he was probably off exploring somewhere, he went back to his breakfast.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Yami, in fact, was up on the roof of the mansion, talking to Priest Seto, both of whom were enjoying the scenery without having to "enjoy" the cold as well.  
  
"So he tapped into the mind controlling ability of the rod?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Priest Seto nodded.  
  
"That's what he said," he replied. "Seems he used it on two men that were attacking his brother and that girl."  
  
"Tea," Yami replied. "Yes...although..."  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.  
  
"Although...?" he asked, quizzically.  
  
"I don't know why I find it strange, seeing as how Yugi has used the Mind Crush ability of the puzzle before, but something about the rod just doesn't seem right," Yami murmured.  
  
Priest Seto sighed.  
  
"What about it?" he inquired.  
  
"You know I wasn't the one who gave the rod to Kaiba," Yami replied, looking up at the priest, who nodded. "Yugi seemed to think it best, and I trusted his judgment. However, perhaps it just..."  
  
"Frightens you?" Priest Seto asked, knowing that was probably where Yami was headed.  
  
Yami gritted his teeth.  
  
  
  
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't put it that way," he replied icily. "No, it doesn't "frighten" me, it just makes me wonder."  
  
Priest Seto stared at the Pharaoh, knowing exactly what he meant, and feeling a stab of hurt. He thought the Pharaoh had learned to trust him...but now he still didn't trust his reincarnate? But then again, with no memory and only half-told stories to lean on, what was he supposed to believe?  
  
"Wonder if he'd use it for another purpose," Priest Seto finished, staring out at the horizon. "Isn't that right, Pharaoh?"  
  
Yami sighed.  
  
"Somewhat," he replied honestly. "Power can sometimes go to ones head, and although I want to trust him..."  
  
"You can, Pharaoh," Priest Seto replied, still staring out at the snow-covered trees in the distance. "Besides. Since when does Seto Kaiba use magic unless absolutely necessary?"  
  
Yami smirked.  
  
"You might have a point," he admitted, although still not completely convinced. "At least...the evil has been banished for now, and Madam Christina should be safe."  
  
Priest Seto nodded.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, in a dark location, the black-haired woman, Zurui, sat in the darkness, her eyes narrowed in amusement.  
  
"So...the Millennium Item holders and their associates proved stronger than those thugs," she murmured. "Excellent. They will prove to be worthy opponents, and their items shall prove to be excellent sources of power...when the time comes."  
  
  
  
With that, she laughed.  
  
***********  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, down at the breakfast table, most everyone had finished eating, and where now talking amongst each other. Mokuba joined in conversation with Duke and Amber as he waited for his brother to come downstairs. Taerro, also, was still asleep, but Serenity had come downstairs in her robe and slippers, feeling awkward around everyone else already dressed.  
  
While she ran back upstairs to get changed, Mokuba sighed.  
  
"When is niisama going to get up?" he muttered, glancing over at the stairs. "He's usually up by this time, no matter what."  
  
Amber raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Maybe he's sick," she suggested. "I mean, he didn't wear a coat all yesterday and you guys were wandering around in the snow a lot."  
  
Mokuba pushed his chair back and stood up.  
  
"Maybe I ought to go check on him..." he murmured, heading toward the stairs.  
  
Amber winked at Duke and hurried after the boy.  
  
"I'll come with you, if you want," she offered, Mokuba looking gratefully up at her. "I could always tell right away when Pearl caught cold or something like that."  
  
"Okay," Mokuba replied, the two walking upstairs and toward the guest room that Mokuba was sharing with his brother.  
  
Mokuba opened the door and poked his head in.  
  
"Niisama?" he asked, but Seto was still sound asleep.  
  
Mokuba bit his lip, looking up at Amber as the two walked quietly into the room.  
  
"You think he's sick?" Mokuba asked, tilting his head to the right.  
  
Amber shrugged, realizing it was hard to tell when someone was asleep. Pearl had always been running around outside.  
  
"I'm not sure," she murmured, gently pressing her hand against his forehead, her eyebrows going up. "Hm..."  
  
Seto opened one eye, wondering why Mokuba and Amber were standing around him. Amber, embarrassed, pulled her hand back, smiling awkwardly.  
  
"Uh...good morning!" she said cheerfully, looking awkwardly over at Mokuba.  
  
Seto sat up, raising an eyebrow at his younger brother and Amber.  
  
"Good morning..." he replied slowly. "What are you two doing?" he asked curiously.  
  
Amber blushed, feeling stupid, but Mokuba cut in.  
  
"Well, when you didn't get up with everyone else this morning, I thought you were sick, so we came to check on you," Mokuba explained, scratching his cheek and looking down at the blue carpeted floor.  
  
"You thought I was sick?" Seto asked, in disbelief.  
  
"Yeah, and...it seems you are," Amber replied, giggling slightly. "So! Sorry for bothering you! You can go back to bed now."  
  
*************  
  
A few days later, the week at Madam Christina's mansion was up, and the gang was all packed and ready to go. Both Seto and Taerro had ended up with a mild cold, but both had recovered quickly and everyone was ready to go home for Christmas, despite the fact that staying at Madam Christina's, with the exception of the events with the crime group.  
  
Seto, Joey, and Yugi ended up being the victors of the mini-matches, and all of them received another small token. Duke and Tristan, being too tired to finish their match, declared a draw. Madam Christina had given Taerro, Mokuba, and Tea new pieces to make up for their pendants. Mr. Taylor had volunteered to take the shattered pieces of the pendants home, and was going to keep them safe as well as NOT put them together again.  
  
Now, the gang were bidding their last farewells to Madam Christina, who was smiling broadly as she waved at them.  
  
"Thank you so much for coming, and again, for helping me with those antique thieves," she called, waving as they got into their various cars.  
  
"Not a problem at all!" Joey called boldly, waving as Mr. Taylor got into the car and started the engine.  
  
The others nodded in agreement, waving as they pulled out.  
  
"Thanks for inviting us!" Yugi called as he got in the car as well.  
  
"Yes, we had a great time!" Tea added, waving.  
  
Madam Christina smiled happily.  
  
"Anytime," she called. "Anytime. Drive safely now, and have a Merry Christmas!"  
  
"You too!" Bakura called as the cars drove away, Madam Christina still smiling as she walked into the house with Bob and closed the door behind her.  
  
It was nice to know such wonderful people, she thought to herself warmly. Even if they are only sixteen years old, she added with a chuckle.  
  
************  
  
The next day, Yugi waited happily in the dark auditorium of the Domino High School theater, anxiously awaiting the Christmas performance by Kiki, Tea, and the rest of the Irish dancers. Beside him were Joey, Serenity, Tristan, Bakura, and Taerro.  
  
"It's a pity Amber and Duke had to miss out on such a special occasion," Taerro sighed, watching the dancers on stage perform The Nutcracker.  
  
Yugi nodded in agreement, watching Yami out of the corner of his eye. The ancient spirit was watching the performance from high above them, preferring a birds-eye view of the show.  
  
"Yeah, but they both had to catch a flight this morning to America," Yugi replied, watching the dancers as well. "Amber invited Duke to spend the holiday's with her family."  
  
Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
  
  
"How romantic," he muttered sarcastically. "I bet Pearl will be all over him."  
  
Serenity giggled.  
  
"Oniichan," she scolded light-heartedly, smiling.  
  
"Shh," Bakura whispered with a grin, enjoying the use of both his arms once again.   
  
He'd gotten his cast taken off that morning, just in time for the holidays. He was more than happy to be able-bodied again.  
  
Suddenly, the dancers bowed and walked offstage, the Irish dancers, along with Tea, who was dressed in a green outfit to match them, replacing them. Yugi clapped especially loud as they began their Christmas dance.  
  
"What a great way to spend Christmas Eve," Yugi thought to himself, watching Kiki and Tea perform with a smile. "Surrounded by my friends."  
  
Yami looked down at Yugi, smiling at him. Yugi smiled back.  
  
"Indeed," Yami agreed with a smile, overhearing Yugi's thoughts as the Christmas music played on.  
  
************  
  
Seto and Mokuba were at home, meanwhile, decorating their Christmas tree. Mokuba had picked out an especially large on, and the two were admiring their old ornaments, pulling them out of the packing box and unwrapping them from their protectors.  
  
"So you hang the decorations on the tree?" Priest Seto inquired, watching with interest.  
  
Mokuba nodded, putting up a paper ornament he'd made back when he had been in kindergarten.  
  
"Yeah," he replied with a smile. "It's a tradition."  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"So what is Christmas all about?" Priest Seto asked curiously, as Seto hung up a golden ornament with a candle painted on it.  
  
Seto sighed, trying to think of a way to explain the holiday to someone like the priest. A moment later, he replied.  
  
"Well," he started, not interested in giving a long lecture. "It's a religious holiday, but it could be said that one aspect of it is the spirit of giving."  
  
Mokuba nodded, smiling.  
  
Priest Seto smiled.  
  
"I see," he replied, feeling happy as Seto plugged in the Christmas tree lights and the whole thing was lit with bright colors, the ornaments sparkling in the light. "That's a good thing."  
  
Seto nodded, sitting down on the couch, Mokuba sitting down next to his brother, laying his head on his brother's chest and hugging him.  
  
"Yeah," Mokuba agreed, closing his eyes happily. "I'm glad we're all together. Being around the people you love is another thing that makes the holidays so special."  
  
Seto nodded.  
  
"Yes, it is," he agreed with a small smile, putting his arm around his brother's shoulder.  
  
Priest Seto smiled as well, watching as the Christmas tree lights twinkled and the snow outside fell quietly to the ground, making the evening perfect for a Christmas Eve.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Amber opened the door to the taxi and stepped out, Duke behind her, both holding their suitcases full of luggage. Duke blinked, looking at Amber's house with a smile.  
  
"Looks cool," Duke commented as the two walked up the icy steps and to the door, Amber opening it and walking in, Duke behind her.  
  
"Hello? We're here!" Amber called, hearing noises of chattering relatives in the dining room.  
  
There was a clink of dishes and a sound of footsteps running before Amber's white-haired cousin came running down the hallway, her face lit up eagerly.  
  
"Amber! Duke!" Pearl cried happily, running over to them. "You got here just in time for dinner!"  
  
Amber smiled.  
  
"Cool," she replied as her mother and father walked down the hall as well, smiling.  
  
"Amber!" Her mother cried, hugging her daughter tightly. "You really need to come home more often. We haven't seen you since the summer!"  
  
Amber blushed as her mom let go, Duke grinning behind her.  
  
"Well, I've been busy," she replied, her cheeks still pink as she tugged Duke forward. "This is Duke Devlin. He's..."  
  
"...Your boyfriend!" Pearl finished with a giggle, Amber shooting her a silencing glare.  
  
"Pearl!" Amber exclaimed, her father ushering Pearl back into the other room.  
  
"Hi," Duke replied in a friendly voice, smiling.  
  
"Hello," Amber's mother replied, smiling kindly. "So...you've been boarding with him?"  
  
"Yep!" Amber replied with a grin. "He's a really nice guy. So are all his employees."  
  
Duke blushed, scratching his cheek.  
  
"Well, go on in and sit down, Duke," Amber's mother suggested, stepping aside. "We'll be right there."  
  
Amber flashed a smile at Duke as he walked into the dinning room, Pearl pulling him to an open spot beside her. Amber giggled, before looking up at her mom, who looked rather shocked.  
  
"Well? What do you think of him?" Amber asked, grinning.  
  
Her mother blinked.  
  
"Well...he's certainly...different," she replied, forcing a smile. "And he's nice?"  
  
Amber laughed, looping her arm through her mom's as they started toward the dining room themselves.  
  
"Yes, he's very nice. He's great," Amber laughed with a smile. "After a while you don't even mind the dice earring," she added, knowing her mom hated when boys wore earrings.  
  
Her mother smiled.  
  
  
  
"Well, I'm glad for you," she replied.  
  
Amber smiled as she sat down at the table, across from Duke, winking at him. He looked slightly out of place with all the rest of her family around, but he smiled back.  
  
"This is going to be the best Christmas ever," Amber thought to herself, as everyone started on the dinner. "I'm sure of it."  
  
************  
  
END OF STORY!  
  
What did you think? Let us know in your review!  
  
"And our next story will be up tomorrow, so check back for it soon! Thanks for reading, and have a Happy New Year!" *blows horn*  
  
^_^! 


End file.
